The Sparrow Sings
by October Breeze
Summary: Yuffie, thanks to a bet, has to move in with Squall for two months and live like a married couple... even sleeping in the same bed. Living with stoic Squall is NOT as nice as it seems. Will they realize how alike they really are? AU.
1. Moving in

Another story! I finally got myself motivated to start writing again. I've been so lazy all summer. The lack of homework and having responsibility is really getting to me. I meant to make this in Traverse Town, but I made another AU again. I don't know why, but I get into AU's more than the ones in Traverse Town. Or maybe it's just because I had a bad experience with one there. Either way, enjoy the story, and review when you're done!

The Sparrow Sings

Chapter One

"I hate this job!" hissed Yuffie Kisaragi, pulling the pencil out from behind her ear and chewing on the end while staring at piles of paper stacked on her desk. Some overflowed onto the ground. And she had to sort them into the right folders. All of them.

When she saw the ad in the newspaper, she thought it was just a way to make good money. Being a secretary couldn't be so hard. She and Aerith had applied together and got the job. After her high school graduation and once the partying had died down, she, Aerith, and Kairi had rented a small apartment together. Even though they shared a room, it was better than having to live with her parents and be under their prudish, watchful hawk eyes (at least her father's). She was barely even allowed to go out to lunch.

She ran a hand through her short raven black hair with a sigh. She wished she could put her hair up into a nifty bun like the other secretaries did that worked for... for... hell, she didn't even know what the place did. They could be selling illegal drugs and she wouldn't even know.

Biting on the pencil harder, she peeked at the Aerith hopefully. She was dutifully signing and stamping papers with enthusiasm, smiling as she placed each document neatly in a small pile. She was almost done with her work, and unless the boss came in with more papers, she was free to take a lunch break.

"Pssst..." Yuffie whispered. She studied Aerith out of the corner of her eye. Aerith glanced up from her papers and looked at Yuffie, then to all of her papers disdainfully, and went back to work. "Pssst..."

"What is it, Yuffie?" Aerith whispered back, glancing around with a blush on her face. They weren't allowed to talk while working, or else they would get a penalty. Aerith, being the good girl she was, remained perfectly silent. When one of her superiors noticed this and notified the boss of her outstanding work ethic, he had had his assistant, Cloud Strife, come by and praise her while giving her a pay raise. Aerith had flaunted it all day, much to Yuffie's dismay, and watched longingly, wishing she had a pay raise.

"I need help! I'm drowning in all of these papers, and what's worse, I don't know where to put them!" she whispered back in a louder tone. "What if Cid comes in to check up on our work, and he notices and... and... I get fired or something!"

Aerith set her elbows on the desk and rubbed her temples. "Yuffie, if you would have done your work instead of drooling over the coffee boy, then maybe you would have had your work done. And it's Mr. Highwind, not Cid."

Yuffie half smiled. The coffee boy was supposed to make coffee for everyone and bring it to them. She could have sworn he winked at her when he gave her her coffee. "But that doesn't mean I don't need help!"

Aerith looked like she was battling with herself. After a moment's pause, she said, "Fine. Give me half of your stack; I'm on my last paper." She stamped the paper and put it on the stack, then swirled around in her chair to open the filing cabinet behind her and put them neatly in a folder. She swirled around and said, "All right, give them here."

Yuffie felt like giving her the biggest hug she had ever experienced in her life. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! You're a life-savor Aerith!" she whispered while hastily dividing the stack and handing them to her. At the same moment, the door to their office opened and in someone stepped into the room.

The sudden noise startled them. Yuffie ripped the papers back but Aerith's grip was firm, making a loud ripping sound echo across the room. Her eyes widened; now she was in trouble. She stuffed the ripped papers behind her back.

"We aren't doing anything in here!" Yuffie said with a nervous laugh and gave Aerith a sideways glance. It was Cloud Strife, standing in the doorway carrying more papers. Aerith flushed a deep crimson and ducked into her seat.

"I wasn't going to ask you if you were doing anything in here," he answered. "But now that you two are acting like you were caught with your hands in the cookie jar, what were you doing?"

"Probably being idiots," said a deep monotone from the door. Long, dark locks of hair, ice blue eyes, and a muscled body with a scar right down his forehead to his nose stood in the doorway. He leaned nonchalantly against the doorframe and studied the mess around Yuffie's desk.

"No! We weren't even doing anything," Yuffie insisted, backing up and searching with her foot for where the garbage can was while still gripping the shreds of paper behind her back.

"What's behind your back, then?" Squall asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Er—I—those are my cat's release papers!" she said and Aerith reinforced her lie with a nod. Yuffie pulled the papers out from her back and held them out then dropped them in the trash can, which she had finally found.

"Release papers," he said in a tone of disbelief. "Is that the best excuse you can come up with?"

Yuffie glanced nervously at Aerith, who didn't give her any help, just stared up at him fearfully. Turning back to look at him, she said, "Er—yeah! You see, my cat had this... infection."

"It had an infection," Squall stated in disbelief.

"Yeah! And uhh...see, it was a urinary infection! And... it had to go to the vet, you know, those dudes who fix animals up! So it had to stay overnight and the release papers are right here! I was just showing Aerith because... because the vet had the same name as her second cousin that lives in Oklahoma, and I thought, 'Well hey; maybe he moved from Oklahoma up here to visit Aerith!' So I just had to show her which is why I was giving her the release papers so she could analyze his signature—"

Someone stuck their head in the door... Cid Highwind, the manager of the business. He stepped in and overlooked all of them. His large beer belly was sticking out in his suit, which was stained with mustard drops. He chewed on a toothpick and rubbed the large silver and gold rings on his fingers on his pant legs, obviously showing them off. "Eh, what's goin' on in here?" he asked in a rough, hoarse voice.

"Kisaragi was just telling me a story about her cat. She keeps referring to it as an 'it.' I was wondering why she would call her very own cat an 'it' if she had the heart to take it to the vet, which obviously meant she cared about her cat enough to keep it healthy," Squall said.

Yuffie's eyes widened. "I...I...well, I named my cat It!"

"You don't have a cat," Cloud said, looking at her closely. "Aerith told me you lived in an apartment together, and she said she wanted a cat, but the apartment doesn't allow them."

Aerith blushed an even darker crimson and ducked deeper into her seat.

"Why is everyone against me!" Yuffie shouted, standing up in her seat and throwing the papers on the ground. If all else fails, throw a tantrum. That had been her motto since she was four. "I have been trying really hard to fit in here, and you all keep scolding me! Especially you Squall!" she shouted. People passing up the office building stopped momentarily and looked in, and then not wanting to be caught staring, continued on their way to the cafeteria for lunch.

"How many times do I have to tell you it's Leon?" he asked coolly.

"Yeah you, Leon, now what is goin' on in 'ere, again?"

"Kisaragi is lying about something."

"Kisaragi! What were you two doin' before we all came in?" he asked with one hand on Aerith's desk.

"Nothing! I wanted Aerith to help me finish my papers so we could go and get some lunch when Cloud came in with more papers! And that's when I was startled and ripped the papers out of Aerith's hand...only they ripped in half."

"Are yeh sayin' that my papers are ripped?" he asked, removing the toothpick from his mouth.

"Er—yes..." she said bluntly.

"Jus' fer that, yeh got extra papers to do and no breaks until yeh've done 'em all! That means all! In fact, no breaks fer the rest o' the week." With that said, he left the room, muttering under his breath.

Yuffie moaned and sunk into her seat. "That isn't fair!"

"You get what you deserve," Squall said with a smirk.

Aerith seemed to have re-composed herself. She sat up in her seat and looked at Squall. "Leon, you're being very rude to Yuffie. You two bicker like an old, married couple. Oh my! I bet you couldn't even live together without fighting," she said with a smile.

"I could live with him, because I can tolerate people. He has a temper that is just waiting to happen," Yuffie said crossly, glaring at him.

Squall still leaned against the door. "Yes, I'm sure you would just love to live with me," he said sarcastically.

"Let's bet on it," Aerith said, still smiling. "I'll bet...fifty dollars that you guys couldn't live together for two months, like a married couple. If you do, then I'll give you the fifty."

"I bet two-hundred," Cloud said.

"Are you kidding me?" Yuffie said incredulously. "You are actually betting on this?"

"No," Squall said simply. Cloud turned to him.

"What do you mean no?"

"No, as in Yuffie is not living with me. Especially not if we're supposed to act like a married couple."

"Scared, Squall?" Yuffie challenged, raising her eyebrows. "Can't take the smell of perfume in the morning? It probably smells a lot better than your place."

"Of course I can," he said coolly. "I just don't want a bitch to tear up my house."

"Excuse me!" she shouted.

"Looks like we're winning," Cloud said with a grin.

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this!" Yuffie said with a laugh. Aerith gripped the steering wheel in her hand and pressed lightly on the breaks at a red light.

"I can't believe it either," Kairi said from the backseat. "Oh well... at least there's one less person to share a room with."

"Hey, I don't take up that much room!" Yuffie protested.

"You don't, but your stuffed animals do," she said with the roll of her eyes.

Yuffie sighed. She had gotten her first stuffed animal when she was two, then on her birthday, every year; her parents gave her another one to add to the collection until it became a tradition for her to receive one for her birthday. She was now up to eighteen, and her newest addition was an elephant. She used to hate pretending to like them, but the day she tried to sleep without them she couldn't fall asleep. The stuffed animals littered her bed, and the floor around it, but they made her feel comforted.

"I think this is it," Aerith said quietly, and rolled into the street full of identical condominiums. They were made of brick, with pretty looking windows and wooden door. "He said his was condo number nine, right?"

"Yeah," Yuffie replied, pressing her nose against the window and staring out, trying to see which house had a number nine on the door. "Oh, right there!"

Aerith slowed the car and pulled into the driveway. The house looked like all of the others, only the grass was cut shorter and neater, there was a small garden under the window, and instead of blinds outside the windows there were curtains. Yuffie excitedly got out of the car and slammed the door behind her and opened the door to the backseat, giving Kairi a quick hug.

"I'll see you tomorrow, because we're meeting for lunch," she told her. She grabbed her duffel bag and suitcase and pulled them out onto the driveway then shut the door, giving Aerith the same quick hug. "Remember, we're meeting for lunch so I can tell you all about what it's like to be married." Aerith nodded and got back in the car with a smile.

As they pulled out, Yuffie waved at them and ran up to the front door and opened it without knocking. She figured since they were supposed to be 'married' then she shouldn't have to knock, because technically it was her house, too.

"Honey, I'm home!" Yuffie shouted, mimicking Ricky Ricardo from her favorite old show, 'I Love Lucy.' She put down her suitcase and duffel bag at the door and gasped. The house was immaculate, just like the outside. The carpeting was a white peach color, and the couches were black suede with not one hair or crumb stuck to it. The T.V. was much bigger than hers, not a big screen, but still fairly large. It was held up in a black entertainment case.

"Lucy? Where are you Lucy!" she called with the same accent Ricky had, still gaping at the house. The kitchen was just the same, only the tile was white and so were the cabinets.

She poked her head in the hallway and noticed four doors, but only one was open, save for the bathroom. She crept down the hall and poked her head in. It was Squall's bedroom. He was sleeping soundly, the blanket tossed to the side. As quietly and slowly as possible, she crept over to him and held her hands out, then jumped on top of him.

Squall's eyes snapped open and tried to push her off of him, but she had a firm grip on his arms. "Squall! I'm home!"

"What the—what are you doing?" he asked angrily, finally shoving her off of him.

"I'm moving in with you. I'm your 'wife,' remember?"

"I never agreed to that bet. And why didn't you knock?" he asked, standing up and digging through his closet for some clothes.

"Because I live here now, and you were sleeping so you wouldn't have heard me," she said simply, lying down on the bed. "This bed is comfortable, I'll be able to sleep well tonight," she said with a grin, knowing full well that he would only get angrier after she said it.

"You aren't sleeping in my bed, Yuffie. I'm going to call Cloud to sort this all out. The bet is off." He left the room and she could hear him pick up the phone in the kitchen. Yuffie stood up and darted over to him and put the phone down.

"But you can't, everyone betted on it. Riku, Sora, Kairi...and of course Aerith and Cloud. It all totals out to six-hundred dollars." She frowned and watched his facial expressions, but they remained blank. He sat down in a kitchen chair.

"They're idiots. Who would want to risk losing that much money just so we live together? Christ..." he muttered.

"Please Squall? I promise I'll be good. I just really want to show Aerith that I can get along with you. We do fight all the time, you know," she said with a sigh, sitting down on a chair next to him.

"I don't fight with you, you fight with me. And it's Leon."

"See! You disagree with me about everything! If I told you the sky was blue then you would say it wasn't. "

"The sky isn't always blue... it can be gray or mixture colors during sunset or orange at dawn."

"Well it's only gray if there's—ugh! Let's just stop fighting, that way I can be a loving wife," she said in a voice as if she were talking to a baby. She stood up. "I'm not a quitter, Squall. Let's just bear through it and pretend to be married to please everyone."

"Fine. But you do one thing wrong, the bet is off. I never agreed to anything, I won't even need to pay them," he said briskly. "And it's Leon."

"Deal," she said with a satisfied smirk. "So what do you do around this place?" she asked, picking up a salt jar and studying it. When there was no answer, she sighed. "Aren't you going to answer?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"That was a stupid question. What else would I do at my house?"

She sighed. "Well I was only trying to strike up a question."

Squall stood up and walked over to the counter, leaning against it. Yuffie studied him. He was so well sculpted, and those eyes were...there weren't even words to describe them.

"Ugh!" Yuffie said, as if there was a bad taste in her mouth. Don't ever start thinking like that again. Squall raised an eyebrow. Recovering from her thoughts, she glanced around then opened the fridge, taking a step back to observe the choices while saying, "I'm starved." She gasped.

The fridge was empty, except for two shelves. The top had a jug of water, orange juice, and milk, and the second shelf right under it had carrots, pepper, cottage cheese, and a bag of salad, but she didn't see dressing anywhere. She slammed the fridge shut and ran over to the cupboards, opening them and staring into them only to find pots and some dried rice.

"What are you doing?" Squall asked, crossing his arms. She looked up and noticed a slightly amused look in his eyes.

"You know exactly what! Where the heck is all of your freakin' food? It's all health crap!" she said, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. "We have to go shopping. Now. This is an emergency. I need pork rinds."

"Those are disgusting and they'll make you bloat up like a balloon," Squall said blankly.

"I don't care, I need food! I can't live here if this is all you eat!" she said in frustration. She couldn't believe it. She LIVED off of chips, popcorn, and sweets. There was no way she could go two months without them.

"Good. Move out. That way you can have your junk food," he replied simply, still leaning against the counter.

"Just—argh! You're impossible!" she said. "I might as well go unpack my stuff..." she said dully. She left him in the kitchen and entered the living room, grabbing her things and dragging them into Squall's bedroom. She looked around and dropped them both onto the bed, then unzipped the suitcase and started hanging up her blouses in the closet. There were plenty of empty hangers in there, and even though the closet was small, it seemed like Squall kept all of his clothes in his dresser.

Once she finished the task, she pulled out her shorts and jeans and skirts and opened the bottom drawer, which was, thankfully, empty and dropped them in. The last thing in her suitcase, a box of makeup and a hairbrush, she dropped into the closet carelessly. "There, that should do it." She put a finger on her lip, standing motionless for a few seconds, then opened her duffel bag, carefully arranging the stuffed animals on the bed. She smiled and took a step back to admire her work.

"Perfect," she commented, clapping her hands together and shoving the empty duffel bag and suitcase under the bed. "Now I'm really at home." She sat on the bed, bouncing up and down a little and glancing around with a sigh. Now that she was here, what was she supposed to do? Bugging Squall wouldn't work, because he always had something just as clever to shoot back at her, and obviously she couldn't call Aerith complaining about how boring it was, because she would only laugh and say how easy it would be to win if it kept going on like this.

"Squall!" Yuffie called, shivering. The house seemed so quiet, unlike her old apartment. There was always some kind of noise, either from the people above her, below her, or on both sides. At first she found the noises annoying, but soon she became used to them and she relied on them to make her sleep more comfortably. But this house was so foreign and cold, just like him. "Squall!" she called again, standing up, her eyebrows drawn together in worry.

She walked out into the hall and sighed in relief. The bathroom door was shut and she heard water running, meaning he was only taking a shower. Her eyes lingered on the door for a few seconds, imagining what Squall looked like naked, under the hot, running water. Shut UP! She felt herself blushing lightly, something she didn't usually do. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. This wasn't good.

The phone rang, shaking her out of her thoughts. She glanced at the bathroom once more, wondering if she should get it or let the answering machine pick up. She wondered if he even bothered recording a message for the answering machine. She walked into the kitchen and positioned her hand over the phone, then finally picked it up and put it to her ear.

Before she could say hello, a booming voice came out from the other end.

"Hey Leon, what's shakin'? I see you've actually picked up your phone this time. Nice. Have you been ignoring me, lately? Anyway I wanted to know if me and my girlfriend could come over to your place because my parents are home and I wouldn't want them to catch us—"

"Hello?" Yuffie asked. She had never heard anyone talk so much on one breath of air.

"Whoa! A girl! It's about time Squall brought some girl home to lay, I mean really—"

Yuffie narrowed her eyes. "You jerk! How dare you say something so incredibly—"

She gasped when she felt the phone being pulled out of her hands without so much as a warning. She turned around. It was Squall, his waist covered in a white towel, looking incredibly pissed.

"You again? Damnit, stop calling here," he said angrily, slamming the phone down.

"Who was that?" Yuffie asked, trying with all her might not to let her eyes venture down his neck. She felt herself flushing. Here he was, an extremely attractive guy, standing almost all naked, wrapped in a towel and dripping wet. She grinned a little.

"That was the neighbor. Don't ever talk to him and I think you'll be fine. Ignore everything he said," he replied, and promptly left the kitchen to go to his bedroom. She heard a loud yell once the door slammed after him. She ran into the room and opened the door, glancing around in alarm.

"What!" she called out. Squall was standing by the bed, still in the towel, staring at the animals that covered the whole bed.

"What are these?" he asked. "There is no way stuffed animals are going to be sitting on this bed."

Yuffie moved towards the bed and pushed her elephant out of the way and sat down, picking up Mr. Fluffy, her puppy doll, and squeezing him. A soft 'I love you! Woof!' came out of his mouth. Yuffie hugged him. "He's so cute...how could you resist him?"

"It's only a stupid stuffed animal, and I want them off the bed."

"But I can't fall asleep without them," Yuffie protested, holding the stuffed animal out. "How could you say no to these eyes?"

He grabbed it out of her hand and tossed it behind him, then circled the bed, brushing them all off with the sweep of his hand. "This is my house, and we go by my rules. My bed is not a tea table to prop your teddy bears on."

Yuffie stood up, clenching her fists. She had just got there, and they were already fighting. "I thought we made a deal!"

"The deal never said that your animals were allowed on the bed. Now get out so I can get dressed," he answered impassively. She groaned and left the room, slamming the door shut behind her. "There! Take that!"

She stormed down the hall and stopped in the doorway of the living room. Okay Yuffie, come down. They were just stuffed animals. Just. Stuffed. Animals. You're a big girl, you can handle it. She took a deep breath. Calm. She was calm again. Okay. She sat on one of the couches and picked up a remote, flicking the T.V. on and tried to concentrate on watching the show. It was some kind of cartoon, and it looked like a cat man with a red robe thing hopping along with a bad temper. (A/N: I've never actually watched Inyuasha before but it was the first show that came to mind.)

She stared at the screen and squirmed around. Her stomach was growling loudly, and she wouldn't be surprised if Squall thought there was an earthquake or something coming from the living room. Or maybe that something was happening on the T.V. Either way, she was starving and she knew her stomach wouldn't settle for carrots and milk.

Standing up slowly and gripping her stomach, she limped into the kitchen, moaning. If she put on her best tired-hungry-and-pathetic act then Squall would take her to McDonald's. She would have to get a Big Mac. No, TWO Big Macs, and a large fry. And a large pop. And maybe she could coax him into buying her a McFlurry.

"Squall," she moaned, looking around the kitchen. He wasn't in there. She limped down the hall to the bedroom, holding her one arm out like a zombie and the other one still clutching her stomach. "Squall...ugghhh..."

She poked her head into his room. He was sitting on his bed with a laptop on his lap, fully dressed in a pair of fuzzy cotton plaid sleeping pants and a white T-shirt. His fingers were flying over the keyboard and he barely seemed to notice Yuffie come into the room until she moaned again.

"What is it?" he asked, looking up. "What are you doing?"

Yuffie burst into laughter. She probably looked really strange, bent and doubled over, one arm outstretched at him and moaning. She must look like a cripple with her back broken and moaning in pain. She remembered she wasn't supposed to laugh but appear to be pathetic and helpless, so she stopped laughing and crept closer to him.

"I'm hungry..." she moaned. "I need food."

"So eat some carrots and lose some weight," he said briskly, staring intently at the screen. "I'm looking up something for work, leave me alone."

As soon as he said 'weight,' Yuffie straightened up and immediately put her hands on her stomach and felt around, not wanting to lift up her shirt to take a look. As far as she was concerned, her stomach was still flat and her legs weren't even close to be called, 'thunder thighs.' She was still as slender as before. Her grandmother had always wanted to fatten her up, but no matter how much Yuffie stuffed down her throat, she never gained an ounce. "Fast metabolism," her mother used to say.

"I need food, look at me, I'm begging you. I need a Big Mac," she moaned, looking at him with her best impression of big, round puppy dog eyes. "Please?"

He sighed and closed the top of the laptop and turned it off and set it on his bedside. "It's too late to go, it's already eleven o'clock."

Yuffie's eyes widened. "Already? You must be lying."

Squall shook his head and pointed to his alarm clock. "If it says it's eleven then I think it really is."

Yuffie's eyes lightened. "But no! Don't they have that thing where they're opened extra late? Hah! So we can go. I bet you were just looking for an excuse," she said smugly. "So can we go? Please? It will be so cool! I'll change into my pajamas and not wear any shoes," she said excitedly.

"Fine...hurry up. I'll be in the car," he said, getting up and grabbing his keys from beside his laptop. Once he left the room, shutting it behind him, Yuffie dug around in her drawer for her pajamas and pulled them out. They were pale blue with little duckies on them. She smiled and pulled off her clothes and put on her pajamas, tripping over the legs and falling onto the bed. "Grr..." she managed to say when she finally pulled them on. She ran out into the hall and looked around. One of the doors had to lead to the garage. Since there were four doors in the hallway, one a bathroom and one a bedroom, then there were two other ones...but which one?

She chose the closest one and it just happened to lead to the garage. She stepped onto the cool cement and ran over to the passenger side of Squall's car. It was already up and running, exhaust fumes filling the room. Yuffie opened the door and slipped on, breathing in deeply. "Ahh..."

"You like that smell?" he said, shaking his head. "Whatever...let's just go."

"Okay," she said with a grin while rolling down her windows and sticking her head out to stare down the street. "This is a nice neighborhood. Except for that neighbor boy," she added.

"Uh-huh..." he said absently, keeping his grip firm on the steering wheel and staring straight ahead. Yuffie rolled the window back up and faced in the right direction.

"This is so cool! I've never done anything like this before," she said and turned up the volume on the radio and blasting it so anyone a mile away could hear its pulse. She swayed with the beat until a hand turned it off.

"Hey, I was listening to that," she protested, reaching her hand out to turn it back up.

"My car, my rules," he said briefly. "Besides, we're here."

And it was true, they had pulled into McDonald's and Yuffie could already smell the fries. Squall slowed down at the and stopped by the menu. "What do you want?"

"Two Big Macs, a large fry, and a large coke, and a vanilla McFlurry," she replied promptly.

"Are you sure you can eat all of that?" he asked.

"Of course I can," she said defiantly.

Squall shrugged and ordered, paid at the window, and grabbed the bag of food at the second window and handed it to Yuffie. She immediately ripped open the top and pulled out three french fries at once and stuffed them in her mouth. "Food!" she managed to say. "Want some?" she asked, offering him some that were half bitten.

"I don't think so," he replied.

She shrugged. "Suit yourself."

By the time they got home, Yuffie had polished off one of the Big Macs, all of the fries, and half her pop and was working on her McFlurry. She ran inside and threw the bag, fry container, and watery pop away and sat at the table with her dessert and sandwich.

After she got down most of the McFlurry, she threw it away and moaned. "I ate too much..." She stumbled into the bedroom where Squall was sitting up in bed, still on his laptop and collapsed onto the bed, gripping her stomach.

"Still hungry?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Obviously not," she hissed. "I'm going to bed, and I don't care what you say, all of my stuffed animals are sleeping with us!"

Before she could grab them, her head hit the pillow and she was out like a light. Squall shut off his laptop and turned off the lamp on the bedside and contemplated waking her up and telling her to sleep on the ground, but thought better of it.

I'm done with the first chapter! I know, I know, not much action or whatever but review anyways. I wrote and re-wrote this chapter four times until it was slightly better. Well, watch for the next chapter and please make me happy! Please review! Every review counts to me and I promise if you review I'll mention you in the end credits when the story is done, and if you say something really nice or ask a question in your review I'll mention you and talk to you on the next chapter. Okay? And don't forget, free Squall posters for reviewers!

P.S. How do you put double spaces between paragraphs? Whenever I do it always goes back to original and I know that since these paragraphs are longer than my normal ones, it might hurt your eyes AND mine.


	2. Cards

Next chapter in line! Sorry it took so long...I've been on a PS2 spree but not only that I'm constantly getting grounded off the computer...where all of my writing goes down. I don't like writing on paper with a pen as much as on one of these Microsoft Word documents. I'm so happy about the reviews I got though...even the ones that were extremely short. throws Squall posters galore Just like I promised! Also...even though I just started this story, I'm running out of inspiration. I do have some okay ideas coming up, though!

Also...thank you to Snowri for telling me how to make double spaces! Read her stuff! She is like...the original Squffie writer!

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The Sparrow Sings

Chapter 2

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The first thing Yuffie felt when she woke up was a burning sensation on her back. She groaned and sat up, only to be blinded by sunlight pouring from the window in the room. She put a hand on her back while using her other hand to cover her eyes.

"Stupid sun..." she muttered while throwing her legs over the side of the bed groggily. "It must have fun toasting my back to a crisp and blinding me with those damn rays."

She stood up and stretched with a long, satisfying yawn and turned to look at the bed with a frown. It was empty...Squall was gone. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair while grabbing some shorts and a tank-top then ran down the hall to the bathroom to take a shower.

She closed the door being her with a soft _click _and peeled her night clothes off, tossing them down the chute leading to the basement which she hadn't seen yet. The sun was burning brightly through the small bathroom window as well, so she closed the blinds with a relieved sigh then turned on the shower, making it nice and hot.

Yuffie hopped in and soaped up, growling as every time she picked up the soap it slipped out of her hand and she was forced to lean over and grab it while it slid away from her down the other side of the tub.

"Everyone is out to get me!" she screamed as the soap missed her grip for the fifth time.

"Everything all right ?" asked a male voice.

Yuffie stood up with a yelp. For a minute, she had thought that he had walked into the bathroom. She sighed and picked up the soap successfully.

"I'm fine," she replied grudgingly. She washed off and used the shampoo, then remembered instantly she hadn't remembered to bring her own shampoo to use. _Oh well, _she thought. _Using this crap shouldn't damage my hair too much._

After showering, she pulled on her shorts and tank-top and skipped into the kitchen, ignoring the looks Squall was giving her because she really didn't know what they were for. Yuffie opened the fridge and sighed, remembering there was nothing there. She closed it again and turned to Squall with her hands on her hips, but before she could get a word in he started talking.

"You aren't wearing those shorts," he said gruffly.

"Why not?" she asked, perfectly confused.

"They're short enough to be underwear."

"No they aren't!" she said, glancing down at herself self-consciously. Were they? She hadn't really paid any attention to them when she put them on, she never even considered that they were short.

"You're exaggerating," she said, rolling her eyes and sitting next to him. He stood up and circled he chair, staring below her wait. She blushed. "What are you _looking _at?"

"I was right. When you sit down they ride up your thighs and I can see your butt."

Yuffie jumped up, putting her hands on her butt. "How dare you look there!" she snapped, still blushing. He sat back down and crossed his arms smugly.

"Go change them."

Yuffie started walking out of the room, then ran back over to him. "Wait—you're not the boss of me! I can wear whatever kind of pants I want, thank you very much," she said, then stuck her tongue out.

"Just go change them! I don't know about you, but I don't want to see your butt hanging out of your shorts every time I look at you," he said coolly.

"Fine!" she said angrily. "But it isn't because you're telling me too!"

"Right..."

She stomped off into the bedroom and grabbed another pair of shorts, pulling them on and groaning. Even though they were longer, they were giving her a permanent wedgie. She limped into the kitchen and shouted, "Are you happy now?"

Squall didn't answer he, just sipped his coffee nonchalantly.

"Hello? I'm talking to you!" she said, coming right up to his ear and practically screaming in it.

Squall jumped and spilt his coffee all down his front shirt. "Yuffie! Damnit, look what you made me do!"

He pushed his chair back and walked into his bedroom, Yuffie limping after him. Immediately the notion of Igor and Frankenstein popped into her head...the tall guy walking around and the hunchback, limping Igor following him around saying, _Yes Master!_

"Get me a towel," he growled, grabbing a shirt from his closet.

"Yes, Master," Yuffie drawled, laughing to herself and limping off with the wedgie to fetch a towel. She wished she knew what was going through his head sometimes. Even at work he never put on any kind of emotion unless it was anger or annoyance, which both came easily for him.

She grabbed a towel from the bathroom and walked back, abandoning the Igor act. He held out his hand for the towel but instead of giving it to him she pushed his hand away and wiped his stained shirt herself, trying to get as much of the coffee off as possible. She was sort of surprised to see that he let her do it, but even more surprised by how solid his stomach was.

When she felt that she had cleaned it up as good as it was going to get, she pulled away sheepishly and dropped the towel on the bed. Squall unbuttoned his shirt and pulled on the T-shirt right in front of her. She stared at his chest the whole time, and if she was an animated cartoon, she would probably have drool coming out of her mouth.

"What are you staring at?" he asked and picked up the dirty shirt and towel and put them in the clothes bin by the bed. She shook her head and ran a hand through her hair.

"N-nothing," she replied, and tried to walk calmly out of the room, only she, and everything she did, was the opposite of calm.

=-=-=-=-=-=

"Listen, Yuffie, I'm having my friends over and I don't want you telling them that we slept in the same bed last night, all right?" he said irritably.

Yuffie curled closer into the couch and diverted her eyes from the T.V. for a few seconds.

"What kind of friends?" she asked.

"That isn't the point," he said, giving her a warning look. "Just behave yourself."

"I'm not a baby. Besides, I want to know who! Are they from work?" she prodded, wanting to know more. He was such a secretive person, and since, technically, she lived here now, there was no point in not knowing. They were just a bunch of friends, anyway!

"Yes, they're from work! And stop bugging me, I'm not in the best mood," he growled, picking up a magazine from the end table and opening it up. "And turn the T.V. off, it's interrupting me."

"Hey, why don't you do it?! And so what if you're in a bad mood? Go buy some Preparation H or something, to soothe the stick in your ass," she said with a grin, instantly smug about the comment she made. She would have to write that one down for later use.

Squall just continued to read the magazine, which, even though Yuffie was sitting across the room, looked like it was a motorcycle magazine.

Deciding to get on better terms with the man, she got off the couch and crawled over to the couch he was sitting on. She put her face over his shoulder. As soon as she did, she couldn't help but think of how nice he smelled.

"Whatcha readin'?" she asked cheerfully.

"Do you mind?"

"No, do you?" Yuffie asked honestly, glancing at him and then looking back at the magazine.

"No," he said sarcastically.

"Stop being such a crab. I just wanted to know," she muttered with a sigh.

"Whatever..."

"Talking to you is like talking to..." she immediately tried to avoid the cliché word that popped into her mind to complete the sentence, which was wall, and searched for something better. "...like talking to someone whose brain dead and is just a vegetable."

With her head still firmly positioned on his shoulder, she felt him stiffen and tense. She raised her eyebrows with surprise at his reaction.

"What is it?"

"...Nothing."

"What?"

No answer. She sighed and backed off of him. This man was more of a mystery to her than pickled onions.

"Fine...I'll leave you alone. But only for a little while," she added while walking into the kitchen to find something to eat. She would even settle for carrot sticks. "And I'll remind you to go shopping tomorrow."

Yuffie pulled open the refrigerator door and hung her head while staring at the health food. She reached for the carrots but pulled her hand back when she heard knocking on the door. Her first time to answer the door there!

"I'll get it!" she called and ran to the door. She opened it up with a grin. "Oh...it's you guys!"

Standing on the porch, carrying two plastic blue bags, was Cloud, Sora, and Riku. Yuffie held the door open more for them. _They must be the visitors Squall was going to have over, _she thought to herself. "Come on in, you guys!"

"Looks like your settling in nicely," Riku said with a smirk.

"Yeah, it's a breeze," she said, waving her hand. "You guys will lose in no time."

"We'll see," Cloud said with a knowing look. He handed her the blue bags. She took them uncertainly and held them up.

"What is this?" she asked while trying to see through it.

"Frozen food because we all know Squall is a wimp and needs to eat health lover's food. So go and be a good wife and make this for us while we play cards," Riku said carelessly while giving a nod to Leon who had barely acknowledged them.

Yuffie clenched her fists. "What did you say? Why you sexist pig, you!" she hissed angrily. "Wives aren't meant to go and cook for her husband! They're supposed to be a team."

Squall stood up and put the magazine away. "Yuffie, just shut it, all right?"

She frowned while Riku gloated at her. Turning to Squall, she shook her head. "Stop telling me what to do. I get enough of it at home. And you! You stop telling me what to do too, stupid, minimal wage coffee boy!" she fumed, then while still clenching her fists. Thrusting the bags into Riku's hands, she stalked out of the room after throwing angry glares at them.

"And she thought I was irritable," Squall muttered, staring after her. Riku shrugged and sat at the table in the kitchen, pulling out a deck of cards from the blue bags. "Are we going to play this or what?"

Cloud and Sora settled down at the table, but Leon remained standing.

"C'mon, Leon, what are you standing there for? Sit down, I'm sure Yuffie'll come to," Cloud said while taking the cards from Riku and saying, "Let me do it, you can't deal for your life."

Leon stared after her a little longer than sighed and ran a hand through his spiky hair. "All right...one game."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

_I'm the worst. I haven't updated in..like..ever. Oh well, don't hate me! PLEASE comment! You took the time to read it anyway. Oh yeah..and this chapter sucks so bad. And it's short, but I was anxious to get it out._

_I promise I'll try to get off my lazy butt and update faster. _

_Anyway please review! _


	3. Pipi's Pizza Place

Okay, here is the next installment of this story. I have been so caught up lately...if this chapter seems a little off I'm sorry. I have a lot going on right now. Please go ahead and read! I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but anyone who I've talked to recently or read my livejournal would know I've been kind of busy with supporting my family and stuff...just very busy.

Keygirl11: Aww..thanks! At least it makes someone laugh.

Also, to my other reviewers so far:

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THANK YOU SO MUCH! _Especially _to the people who reviewed my very first chapter, because I got 16 reviews for that chapter. Pathetic, I know, but a record for me!!!!

_

* * *

_

_The Sparrow Sings_

_Chapter Three_

* * *

Yuffie sat, curled up on Squall's bed, listening to their voices yell at as they played their card game. The smells of frozen pizza baking in the oven, evidently being made by Sora because he had been forced into it by Cloud and Riku, filled her nose. She sighed and sat up a little.

"Bullshit," Riku yelled out, slapping his hands on the deck of cards to look to see if he was right.

Cloud burst into laughter. "Ha! Got you! I was telling the truth."

"You guys, why can't I play?" Sora whined.

Yuffie sighed and sat back. Their voices were slightly muffled from her position in the bedroom. Why was it that she was always the one that was yelled at and left out? It happened at her parent's home, at her old home, and now at this home. She hated to feel sorry for herself but she just couldn't help it.

Wasn't anyone going to follow her into the bedroom to talk some sense into her? Didn't anyone care that she was just sitting here after throwing a fit? Maybe she was just itching for attention. __

_Shut up and stop feeling sorry for yourself, _she thought crossly. _Either go in there and play with them, or stay in here until you fall asleep. _

Yuffie stared at the door out into the hallway and could just see a sliver of what was going on in the kitchen. She stood up and crept out into the hall and inched along the wall to the living room, stopping to sigh as she smelled the wonderful baking pizza smell. She looked down at her stomach and bit her lip. It was growling.

Making sure no one was watching, she walked into the living room, keeping her head down while discreetly watching Squall, Riku, and Cloud play cards.

"Hey, Yuffie! How do you work this oven?" Sora called from the kitchen, turning around to see her.

She ducked lower and made a hissing sound, but it was too late.

Trying to ignore the stares she got from the three men, she walked over to Sora and leaned down by his ear.

"Sora, you idiot, you blew my cover!" she growled in a not-so-angry-way.

He rolled his eyes. "Why were you hiding?"

Yuffie put a hand on her hip, then shook her head. "Never mind. When is that pizza gonna be done? Geez, I'm starving!"

"Uhh...that's what I called you over here for. I don't know how to turn this thing off," he said angrily and hit the oven with his fist.

"You turned it on, can't you turn it off?" she asked incredulously, pulling open the oven and wrinkling her nose. "Oh, gross, it smells totally burnt!"

She squinted into the oven and examined it further. The whole thing was a charred mess, the pepperoni was curled into a black crisp, and worst of all, smoke was starting to pour out into the room, filling it with black smog.

"Oh great," Sora muttered. "Why does this always happen to me?"

Yuffie backed up, starting to cough and put an arm over her mouth. "Leon!" she called out, muffled.

"Damn," he muttered, looking up and seeing the mess. Before, when Yuffie and Sora had been conversing, he had tried to ignore her, but ignoring _her _had made him not see the smoke, either.

"Good going, Sora," Riku snickered.

Cloud nudged Riku in the side and went back to looking at his cards. Riku crossed his arms and watched Sora glance around in confusion with a barely concealed smirk on his face while shaking his head.

"Pathetic," he laughed.

All the while, Yuffie stood back behind Leon, watching as he fanned at the pizza with his hands, his eyes watering from smoke. Whirling around to grab a towel, he turned back around and grabbed the pizza out of the oven and tossed it into the trashcan and closed the lid.

Yuffie put a hand over her nose and coughed again. The smell was horrible, and Riku's laughter ringing in her ears didn't help. All of her embarrassment and anger from before vanished as she stared at Leon, a lopsided smile on her face. His hands were covered with black ash and his face was dusted with gray.

"What?" he asked angrily, grabbing a wash cloth and wiping his hands with them.

"Nothing," she said with a shrug, then patted his cheek. "Might want to check your make-up, hun, because it's looking dreadful," she said sarcastically.

He raised an eyebrow and wet the wash cloth to wipe his face. He assumed that's what Yuffie had been joking about. He shrugged it off and set the towel down and walked over to the table where everyone, including Sora, was now seated. Yuffie put her hands on her hips.

"Now what? I'm starved," she said, putting her hands on her hips and leaning slightly forward to stare at the cards over Squall's shoulder. He scooted his chair in and glanced at her, obviously annoyed.

"Stop breathing over my shoulder, for the last time. And if you're hungry, go order a pizza."

"Make that a pepperoni and double cheese pizza," Riku added, tossing a few cards into the middle.

"I want mushroom," Sora said, staring at his cards. Cloud gave a nod.

"Make that half mushroom, half black olive," he said.

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "And what do _you _want, Squall?"

"Leon. I'll have whatever."

"All right, but you're paying!" she said happily, then pranced over to the cupboard to grab the phonebook. She flipped it open and licked her finger, scanning the pizza businesses and finally finding the one that sounded interesting.

"I'll just call here," she murmured, picking up the phone and tucking it under her shoulder. She dialed the number carefully then waited for someone to pick it up.

"Pipi's Pizza Place, will this be delivery or pick up?"

Yuffie grinned at the name that had driven her to choose the pizza joint in the first place. Three P's. "This is for delivery. Can I have a half mushroom, half black olive pizza, large, and a double cheese and pepperoni, large, please?"

"Certainly. That'll be $22.43. Anything else?"

Yuffie glanced over at the table of men who were all heavily immersed in their game. She turned back and said carefully. "Uhh...no, that's not all. Can I have mozzarella sticks, and chicken fingers, and also a 2 liter of Pepsi? And...jalapeño poppers!" she said with a grin. This way, she could have what she wanted, junk food, and Squall could eat rabbit food!

"Okay, you want a large half mushroom half black olive, a large double cheese pepperoni, jalapeño poppers, chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, and a 2 liter of Pepsi?"

"Yes."

"$35.58. Address?"

"6202 Chestnut Street."

"It'll be there in about thirty minutes."

"Thanks!" she said while hanging up. She glanced over at the men once more. None of them seemed to have heard her request. She smiled and waltzed over to the table to stare at the cards in their hands, knowing full well it would only annoy them.

Approximately thirty five minutes later, after Yuffie had been banned from the kitchen, the doorbell rang, two white headlights shining through the front window from the driveway.

"Leon, have you got the check?" Yuffie called, glancing into the kitchen. She needn't have asked, for he was already in the living room with a pen and a leather booklet. He opened the door and nodded at the pizza delivery man.

"$35.58," the man said, handing him the two pizza boxes and a bunch of brown bags. Leon shook his head.

"You must have made a mistake, we only order two pizzas," he said, expecting the man to apologize and take it back.

The man shook his head and glanced at the slip of paper he was holding. "No, you did order all of this. This is what I jotted down on the telephone."

"Uhh...we did order that. I did," Yuffie piped up, glancing from Squall to the man. He gave her an angry glance then wrote out the check.

"I'm sorry for the trouble, and I'm sorry for this girl..." he said, handing him the check. "Keep the change."

"Thank you sir," the man said, handing him the pop, pizza, and other junk food.

Squall closed the door and turned to Yuffie, still holding the purchases with both hands. "Yuffie, why did you order all of this food? No one is going to eat it, and it cost way too much!"

"Geez, I'm sorry if I get hungry," she said tentatively while grabbing the pop from his hands and carrying it into the kitchen. "Clear the table boys, here comes food."

"All right, pizza!" Riku said, leaning back in his chair. Yuffie set the pop on the table and grabbed some paper plates and dished them out while sitting down herself.

"All thanks to me and my excellent ordering skills," she said with a grin, grabbing a piece of pepperoni pizza and pulling it onto her plate, long strings of cheese stretching out from the bottom of the box. "Mmm...real food!"

"Excellent ordering skills my a—" Squall started to say.

Yuffie leaned over and smothered his mouth with her hand, cutting off his next words. "Leon!" she scolded.

"What, you can swear but I can't?" he asked, grabbing a piece of pizza after ripping her hand off.

"As your unofficial wife, my rule goes. Call me Queen Yuffie," she said after taking a bite of pizza and relishing the cheese. "Mmm..."

"Have you been starving her, Leon?" Cloud asked while raising an eyebrow and reaching for another piece of pizza.

"Starving her? Yeah right..."

"Yes you have, Squall!" Yuffie said, her eyes widening. "Look at your fridge! There's nothing to eat in there!"

"There's perfectly good food in there, you just don't want to eat it," Squall reminded her. "And call me Leon, how many times do I have to remind you?"

"I have short-term memory loss," she said sarcastically with a glare.

"I know you do."

Cloud shook his head and bit into the pizza. "We are so winning this bet..."

"You can say that again," Riku chimed in. "If I was smart I would double my offers."

"Go ahead, because you guys are going DOWN," Yuffie said with a laugh. She yawned slightly and pushed her chair back. "Well...work is tomorrow, so I had better get to bed."

She picked up her two bags of extra food and stuck it in the fridge, then yawned one more time before walking back over to the table and waving lazily.

"See ya, Yuf," Riku said, still fully immersed in downing his pizza.

"Bye, Yuffie," said Cloud and Sora together.

"Night-y night!" she said cheerfully before prancing off to hers and Squall's bedroom and plopping down onto the bed with a sigh. His bed was so comfortable and so big...she could just bury her head in the pillows and breath in his smell and feel totally safe and secure.

"C'mon Fluffy-kins," she cooed, leaning over the side of the bed and grabbing a ragged dog animal with big, floppy ears. She pulled him up and set him next to her on the bed, then kissed his forehead with a giggle.

"Time for...sleep..." she said through a yawn. She placed her head on the pillow slowly with a content sigh and listened wearily to the three men leave and Squall clean up the mess they had left. Fifteen minutes later, the T.V. was flicked on. The sound carried through to the bedroom which she could easily hear.

"Ugh..." she groaned. With a start she pulled her pillow over her ears and tried to block out the sound. "Can't a man see a girl is trying to get some shut eye, here?"

After five minutes of trying to fall asleep while still holding the pillow over her ears, she had had enough. Yuffie sat up and put the pillow down, yanking her legs over the side of the bed and setting them onto the cool floor.

She stumbled out into the hall, putting both hands against the walls for support and fumbled into the living room.

Laying on the couch, his head tilted back onto cushion and his feet spread out on the ground, was Squall, sleeping soundly, still holding the remote in his hand. Yuffie squinted at the light coming from the T.V. and quickly turned it off.

The room that was once flooded with light was in complete darkness. She carefully edged her way over to Squall, a shiver running along her arms. It was so cold out here. Her skin prickled with unwanted goosebumps.

Finally locating Squall, she pulled the remote out of his hand and dropped it onto the ground, her hand coming into contact for a few seconds with his very warm one. Involuntarily she let out a breath with the brief touch of warmth.

She sat on the edge of the couch and got as close to him as she could without being too close into his personal space and watched him sleep. His young face, smooth with a square jaw, seemed so relaxed. His scowling frown had virtually disappeared from his face, making him look like a whole new person.

Being this close to him made Yuffie have a little rush of adrenaline. Her heart sped up, making her draw a breath in and put a hand on her forehead. Was she feeling sick? Why was she thinking this way?

She looked back at him and couldn't help but stare into his face again. She had never been this close to a man before. She had hardly ever given a person of the opposite sex a hug for crying out loud! Maybe that was what made her cheeks flush the way they were.

He was so warm...she smiled a little and struggled to keep her eyes open to watch him a little longer. But the combined effects of the warmth that his body was emanating and her heavy eye-lids was driving her head to droop.

She yawned and leaned back against Squall's chest and rested her head on the couch. It couldn't hurt to lay like this a little longer. Just a few moments longer...

* * *

I hope nothing in this chapter is messed up.

Anyways, please review! It will make me so happy.

I seriously feel like I'm forgetting to do or say something...hmm....


	4. Tempers

_Before I forget..._

_Lorok__: No, I just made the name up. I kind of like it. Heehee. _

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_The Sparrow Sings_

_Chapter Four_

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Warmth enveloped Yuffie's sleeping figure, curled up on the couch against a man's bare chest, her head tucked underneath his chin. Her toes curled slightly inward in pleasure and a closed mouth moan escaped her throat.

_What am I doing on the couch? _she wondered sleepily, snuggling deeper into the warmth and trying to fall back asleep. Before she could analyze it further, she felt a stirring behind her, then a groan. A familiar groan.

"Yuffie?" croaked a voice. Her eyes widened considerably. Suddenly she remembered what she was doing on the couch. She must have fallen asleep on Squall last night. But she hadn't meant to do that...

"Um... yeah?" she asked, slowing sitting up and rubbing her eyes quickly to get a better view of him.

"What are you doing?" he asked slowly, sounding groggy and in a half asleep state.

"Um.. nothing," she replied, adding a short laugh afterward. "I was just waking you up because I'm hungry and we're supposed to be going shopping today."

_Liar.__ He's never going to believe you now. _

"Oh," he said simply, sitting up and squinting from the morning light filtering from the windows. Yuffie's jaw dropped. He had _believed _her?

She sighed and slid off the couch. So she was off the hook. Somehow, she felt disappointed that he didn't realize they had been sleeping on the same couch, together. Even if Squall had been mad, maybe he would realize that she was... growing fond of him. Maybe even more than fond.

"So when are we going?" she asked tentatively, crossing her arms from the coldness of the room and walking over to the air conditioning and turning it down.

"As soon as we're ready," he said, still sounding very tired. Yuffie frowned and walked over to him, missing his warmth from before. She put a hand on his arm and stared into his eyes.

"Squall, you look really tired," she said softly, keeping a firm hand on his arm. "And pale. Are you okay?"

Squall blinked and shook his head, then pushed her off him. "I'm fine," he said, walking towards the hall and into the bathroom. She sighed and sat down on the edge of the couch, her fingers gripping the edge of the cushion.

She laid down and stared at the ceiling, listening to the soothing noise of the shower water pounding onto the porcelain tub. When had she stopped being annoyed with Squall, and started to like him? She had been here for two or three days, and she was falling for him? No. All the times she had ever found someone, they had turned out to be complete idiots or jerks, or worse. And even if she found someone, it would only end in heartbreak. There was no 'Mr. Right' or 'Prince Charming' for her.

"Are we going or not?"

The simple sentence brought her back down from the clouds and back onto Earth. Squall was standing in a plain white T-shirt and jeans, his hair slightly wet and falling into his eyes in a dangerous, sexy looking way. Yuffie laughed nervously and nodded quickly.

"Yeah, yeah let's go," she chirped, jumping up and skipping down the hall towards the garage door where the car was waiting. She looked over her shoulder to make sure Squall was following, which he was, though reluctantly.

"Just to remind you, I have a budget," he said, opening the car door and getting inside as Yuffie did the same. She ignored his comment and instead pulled down the mirror flap and checked her hair.

"I know," she said, touching at a few black strands. "But anyways...how does this look? Do you think I should put my bangs over here?"

She pushed them over to the left, then over to the right, a puzzled look on her face.

"I don't _know_," he said, shaking his head and pulling out of the driveway. "They're bangs; let them fall where they want."

Yuffie pushed the mirror back up, putting them back to their original place. "I can't help it; my bangs are always getting in the way."

After a few meaningless conversations flipped back and forth, Squall pulled into the store's parking lot. Yuffie bounced excitedly.

"Chips, mm...and POP! Oh GAWD pop!" she said, her hands pressed onto her seat in order to help her bounce. "C'mon Squall, find a freakin' parking spot already!"

"None of them are open," he replied simply, passing two open spots but pretending like he didn't see them.

"You just passed an open on up!" she shouted, turning around in her seat and watching sadly as they drifted away from the car. "Go back!"

"I have to find one at the front," he replied calmly, slowing down when he saw a young woman loading groceries into her car, getting ready to leave. She opened her door and started the car up, then pulled out.

"Hurry, hurry, before that dude gets the car spot!" Yuffie exclaimed, turning around in her seat and glancing at the man in the car who was facing Squall. "Hell no, he wants your spot!"

Squall pressed the ignition and turned on the turn signal, but the man had already revved forward violently and turned into the spot.

"Did you see that? Did you see that? Get out of the car and give that guy a piece of your mind!" Yuffie cried vehemently. She stared anxiously at the car door, waiting for the guy to get out so she could flip him off.

"No, the guy made it there before me, we can wait a little," he said easily, starting to back up.

"We? Well I have been half starved all week, and now it'll take another twenty minutes before we can even park. Stop the car," she ordered.

"Yuffie, that's crazy, it's just a..."

Before he could finish, Yuffie had opened the car door and was sprinting up towards the man's car.

"That idiot, how could he be so rude!" she hissed. She knew she was being a little extreme, but when it came to her stomach, anything was possible. People who cut others off when they easily could have given them the spot, like any decent person should, were just inconsiderate.

She stopped at the car, but it appeared empty. Had he already walked into the store without her seeing him? Carefully, she walked around to the driver side and stopped. There, a man with short blonde hair was getting out of the car, dressed in a tight white tank-top and pants. He saw her, his light blue eyes catching hers, a strange glint forming on the top.

"What can I do for ya, sweet cheeks?" he asked with a cocky grin, leaning against the side of his car. Yuffie momentarily forgot why she had come, but then remembered with an explosion.

"How could you cut us off like that?! We were there before you and—"

A hand covered Yuffie's mouth, which she reflexively bit and whirled around. It was Squall, but it seemed like he had forgotten to scold her for running off because his eyes were fixed onto the blue-eyed man that...oddly, as Yuffie hadn't noticed before, had a scar across his nose, too.

"You!" they shouted at the same time, eyes locked onto each other. "What are you doing here?!" Simultaneous again. "Stop that!"

"Wait, you guys know each other?" Yuffie said incredulously, thoroughly confused. She nudged Squall after he hadn't answered for a few seconds.

The blue-eyed man seemed to have recovered some. "So, Squallie-boy, what have _you _been doing for the past few years, eh?" he asked, that same cocky grin reappearing after it had temporarily been replaced by a frown.

Squallie-boy? Yuffie thought, a smile touching her lips.

"It's Leon," he growled, grabbing Yuffie's arm and pulling her towards him. "And it's none of your business, anyways. C'mon Yuffie, let's go."

"Yuffie? What an enchanting name. My name is Seifer," the man said, grabbing her other hand and bringing it to his lips to kiss it. Yuffie giggled, then felt Squall's hand on her tighten. This was the first time he had ever really touched her on his own will.

Seifer noticed, and pointedly looked at his arm. "Jealous, Squallie-boy?"

Disgusted, Squall let go of Yuffie's arm. "I don't think so. Yuffie is all yours."

"Hey!" she protested. "I thought we were married!"

Seifer looked taken aback, staring at the hand he had kissed. "Married?!"

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "No, not really. It's umm...well, we're...never mind. We're both single."

"Eh, Squall hasn't gotten any lately?" he chuckled. "Well, Yuffie, why don't you give me your number and we can talk about the long story later tonight. Better yet, here is my number," he said, opened the car door and pulling out a card, handing it to her with a flourish.

_Seifer Almasy_

_(550)-884-2563_

_852 Loya Rd._

_Let's do lunch!_

Yuffie laughed while she was staring at it then pushed her hand into her backpocket, pulling up an empty gum wrapper and looking around for a pen. Seifer handed her one and she quickly scribbled down Squall's number.

"There ya go, Seifer!" she said cheerfully while Squall sulked angrily behind her. He winked at her and waved, walking up towards the store.

"I would stick around but it looks like Squall is having some technical difficulties," he said, waving once more before passing cars towards the store.

Yuffie slipped the card in her pocket and turned around to Squall, who was carefully avoiding her eyes.

"So where do you guys know each other from?" she questioned.

"Hell," he replied, walking towards the store, forcing Yuffie to do a short quick step to follow him.

"No really!" Yuffie insisted, glancing at him, "Isn't it so weird that you met him here?"

Squall stopped and grabbed Yuffie's arm. "Look Yuffie, that guy is bad news. I don't want you talking to him."

Yuffie rubbed her arm. "Gawd, Squall, you aren't my father. If I want to have a new friend I don't see why not."

"Just trust me. Don't get involved."

"That doesn't give me a reason not to! And I think you're just jealous."

"Would you shut up with that? Just because I'm warning you about him it doesn't mean that I'm jealous!" he said, entering the store entrance, oblivious to the stares he was getting from other customers.

Yuffie sighed and ran forward. "Wait for me!"

She grabbed a cart and pushed it through the door, glancing around for him, but he appeared to have disappeared out of sight. She stopped and sighed.

"This is great..." she mumbled, pushing the cart past the fruits and towards the cereal section, grabbing the most sugary boxes she could find and popping them into the cart. She wished Squall wouldn't have run off, but maybe she shouldn't have upset him that way. She shouldn't have even been talking to any guys since the bet was still on.

She picked up two bags of BBQ chips and popped them into the cart, then on to the candy section, lunch food section, and frozen food section. Still no Squall.

Worry itched at the back of her mind. What if he had left without her? Or what if he was secretly watching her now, laughing at how stupid she was? Or what if he was ignoring her so he didn't have to buy her now-full cartload of groceries?

She pretended to be looking at more frozen food while actually thinking about what she should do. Ask a clerk to search around for him? Ask a police officer?

Yuffie sighed and pushed the cart towards a clerk in the meat section, and waited a few moments in line until it was her turn to "order."

"Hey, what would ya like today?" asked a blue eyed clerk. "Heyyy, if it isn't Yuffie!"

It was Seifer, dressed in an apron with the store's name across the front (Giant Eagle) and plastic gloves covering his hands.

"You work here?" she asked, forgetting for a few seconds what she needed to ask him.

"That's why I came. It isn't the best job but it pays," he said, smirking at her. "Do you need any meat?" (A/N: That sounds so wrong.)

She shook her head. "I...I can't find Sq—Leon anywhere. He went ahead of me and now I'm afraid he might have—"

"I'm on it," he interrupted, grabbing a microphone by the counter and swinging it around to him like a game show host. "Attention, Giant Eagle shoppers, we are on the look out for a man named Squall, yes, Squallie-boy. Brown hair, blue eyes, tall, yeah. A little miss Yuffie is looking for him. Squallie-boy, if you're in the store, please proceed to the front desk to pick her up."

"Thank you so much," Yuffie said gratefully, backing up. Seifer came around

the side of the counter.

"I'll personally escort you there, babe," he said, grabbing the cart from her and pushing it forward, leading her towards the front desk. In less than a minute they saw Squall standing at the desk, looking extremely annoyed.

"You could have just come around to the magazine section," he said, his voice low. "Let's pay and get out of here."

"Nice, Squallie-boy, real nice to leave a lady like that to push her own cart," Seifer said, shaking his head, mocking him. "Yuffie deserves much better."

Seifer took a step forward, a flaunting grin on his face, as if daring him to come at him. Yuffie put a hand on Squall's arm.

"Let's just go pay..." she said weakly, tugging at his sleeve.

"Well Squallie-boy? Afraid? Afraid of the big bad—"

The sickening pounding noise of human bone connecting against human bone and then the thud of someone falling down hit Yuffie's ears. She screamed and clamped a hand over her mouth. Squall was standing over Seifer, and Seifer was lying on the ground, moaning and holding a hand to his nose which was covered with blood.

"Squall! WHAT DID YOU DO?!" she cried, dropping down on her knees and pulling Seifer's hand away. He groaned and put it back up and stood up slowly with Yuffie helping him, letting him lean against her.

"Me and you, Squall," Seifer said with a deadly tone to his voice, his eyes burning. "Me and you tomorrow. Don't call me, I'll call you."

With that, he pushed past the crowd that was forming and disappeared into the bathroom. Squall watched him go then turned to Yuffie,

"Let's pay and get out of here."

"Why would you hit him? I thought you had better control of your temper than that!" she said, staring at him angrily. "He could've really gotten hurt!"

"Didn't you hear him, Yuffie?! He's bad news, and I don't want you to be related with that!"

"You're the one who hit him, so I think you're the bad guy right now!"

"Don't."

"Just come on, let's pay."

She pushed the cart into the line and started loading them onto the layer belt. The clerk watched them both warily and rang them up. Squall handed her a few bills and grabbed the bags without waiting for change. Yuffie gave her a 'sorry' look and sprinted after him.

In the distance two police car lights were flashing as they unloaded out of the car. Yuffie hung her head. Wonderful. Someone must have called the police.

"Hurry and get to the car before they ask the witnesses who started the fight," she said, starting to run to the car. Squall didn't bother and arrived at the car a minute later and put the groceries into the trunk and walked around the car to his seat.

Yuffie sat next to him and sighed. There was a dead silence in the air, and it was getting on her nerves.

"Why don't you just talk to me about it?" she finally said as they were very near the house.

"I don't want to talk about anything with you. Just drop it all right?" he said and started coughing.

Yuffie felt hurt. The way he had said his sentence...she sighed. "I knew you looked sick this morning, and now you've over worked yourself. You're probably catching the flu."

"Good, then maybe you'll lend me some piece and quiet." He pulled into the driveway and opened the car door and slammed it shut, Yuffie following suit.

"Squall...don't!" She grabbed his arm but he shook it off without a word and proceeded to his bedroom where he closed the door. Yuffie rolled her eyes, but still felt hurt at the same time. Why couldn't they just communicate with each other?

Maybe she had gone into this bet overconfidently.

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_I live! Okay I am SO SORRY that I didn't update sooner, I am totally to blame. Thanks to Annjirika who threatened me into writing this! Seifer made a guest appearance in this, and maybe in other stories you'll see more of it..in..other things...-cough-_

_Thank you to all the reviewers, I luff you! And, please review, it'll make me really, really, really, really, really happy and stuff!_


	5. He Really WAS Sick

_Author Note:_

_Thanks to all you reviewers! I'm glad you weren't TOO mad at me for the extremely late update. I'm going to try really hard to make the updates frequent and/or regular. Okay? Not only that but because I'm anxious to get it over because...I and my co-worker of evil (evil smiley!) have a master plan in the works. Not only that but I have a couple more ideas in my head. _

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_The Sparrow Sings_

_Chapter Five_

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"I knew you were sick," Yuffie said, rolling her eyes and sitting on the other side of the room on the couch while Squall sat in the armchair, leaning back, his face pale and a bowl next to the floor.

"I'm not sick," he replied, closing his eyes.

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"You're trying to deny it."

"No, I only have a head-ache."

"Oh," she said as if she believed him, just to please him, although she knew he was lying. Why else would he have taken the precaution to have the bowl next to him?

"So uhh...what's going on with Seifer?"

"What do you mean?"

Yuffie diverted her eyes from his, even though they were closed. "Well, you know...are you going to fight him like he said?"

Squall opened one eye and shifted slightly. "No. Why would I want to fight him? It would be a waste of time. And I have work anyways."

She let out a breath. She had been hoping he wouldn't want to fight him. But it was odd the way he moved in his seat like that, like maybe he had been thinking something different when he said he wouldn't.

Hopefully, Seifer wouldn't call and start bugging Squall about fighting him and taunting him. While she knew Squall had a pretty good handle on his temper, she had observed that whenever he was around Seifer he acted much more reckless. And if Seifer called him out...she didn't want to think about it. She might have to deal with that later, because at the moment, Squall was heaving his guts out into the bowl.

"You okay?" she asked as she winced as she turned her head from the heaving noises in the bowl. She stood up, realizing he probably wouldn't want her to watch him puking, but, she felt she should try to at least comfort him.

She perched herself on the edge of the chair and rubbed his back, then letting her hand move up a bit to rub his neck area, then down to his back again in comforting motions. He stopped puking for a minute and eyed Yuffie with a strange look in his eyes. He stood up from the chair and walked into the bathroom when he closed the door and moments later she heard the toilet flushing.

Yuffie sighed and sat down in his chair. Knowing him, he would probably want to go to work even though he was puking. He was stubborn. _Too_ stubborn. It was Monday again, and the weekend break (which thankfully they got every week, unlike many jobs) had been great, but she, in a way, wanted to get back to work to talk to her friends. Not that she wouldn't take an open opportunity to take a "leave of absence" however.

Squall appeared from the bathroom. Yuffie watched him sit back down in his seat then finally said, "Will you be all right without me? Do you need me to stay home with you from work?"

Squall wiped his mouth with the back of his arm and shook his head.

"No, because I am going to work today," he replied simply.

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding me? You're barfing your guts out. If you went to work like that Cid would throw a cow for puking on his stuff."

"I'll be fine in a few minutes," he insisted, refusing to meet her eyes.

Yuffie was overcome with a sense of adoration for him. He was trying to put up a tough front when they both knew he was too sick to function.

"Aww," she cooed, putting both of her hands on his cheeks playfully, pulling his face up a bit. "Squallie!"

"Lay off," he growled, though it didn't seem to hold much hostility. He pulled her hands off his cheeks. "You don't want to get sick, too."

"I won't. Besides. I want to stay here with you. And it's an excuse not to go to work. I have like zillion sick days left since I haven't used any. Neither have you, have you?"

He didn't answer, but instead turned to the bucket and again vomited.

"That's it. I'm calling work right now. It's time for The Great_ Nurse_ Yuffie!" she said, skipping into the kitchen and grabbing the phone. She found the work number on the hot dial. Why would he want that on one of his _hot _dials? she wondered.

She pressed the button and was immediately connected with work. Someone from one of the main offices picked up.

"Hello? This is Cid's Manufacturing. How may I help you?"

"Yes, hi. Um, I'm calling about a co-worker. Squall Leonheart, do you know him? He works directly for Cid. Well, he's very ill and he and I will not be at work today, or maybe even for a few days."

She sighed and seemed to be writing it down. "Very well. Call us tomorrow and tell us how Mr. Leonheart is holding up."

With that, there was a click on the other end of the line. Yuffie hung up and skipped into the living room. It seemed as if Squall had recovered some, and was sitting up in his chair.

"There! It's all settled. You are staying home today...with me!"

"Yuffie, I told you I would be fine! Look, now I'm perfectly all right..."

"You won't be in awhile. I wish we had bought crackers and soup at the store yesterday..."

A thought popped into Yuffie's mind. Since Squall was so sick, there was no way that he could go fight Seifer. And that meant...no worrying!

"Guess what I heard? Stress causes aging in the cells. In a test run by scientists, they found that mothers with children who are disabled had more stress put on them and actually genetically changed themselves. They're telomeres on the ends of their chromosomes shortened and were significantly shorter than mothers _older_ than them. When it is shortened, the telomeres can no longer perform mitosis and that means they can't duplicate their cells. That means they age," she said.

Squall raised his eyebrows and stared at her. "...Where did you hear that?"

"The newspaper, silly! I bet you didn't know that, did you? Did you, huh?"

"Er...no. I kind of lost you after the first few sentences."

Yuffie frowned, disappointed. "Oh. Well, I said—"

"I got it the first time."

She sat down on the couch and curled her knees towards her chest. "Why are you always so mean? You could at least try to be nicer once in awhile, ya know..."

"Sorry. It's just the way I am," he replied with a slight sigh.

"Well..."

"Let's not get into this," he interrupted, standing up and walking off towards his bedroom. "I don't need any more additional stress."

"Or else you'll look older right?"

He had already left into the bedroom. Yuffie sighed and leaned into the couch. Talking to him was hopeless. He seemed so...uninterested and distant. Wasn't there one thing he cared about? Surely there had to be...no one could be human and act like_ that_. Why was he putting up such a front with her? She tried her best to be open but he just seemed closed up. Maybe it was up to a little bit of Yuffie spice to open him up.

_I wonder what I can do..._she wondered, the gears in her mind turning at a rapid pace. She twirled a strand of hair around her fingers. Giving up after a few moments, she stood up and skipped down the hall to Squall's...and her bedroom.

"Leon? Squall? Can I come in?' she asked. After waiting a few seconds without an answer, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. The room seemed to be chillier than the rest of the house, and slightly darker.

Squall was seated on the edge of his bed, looking at something with his back turned from her. She sat on the bed and crawled over to him to see what he was staring at so intently.

"Yuffie! Haven't you ever heard of knocking!" he said angrily, shoving whatever he had been holding away somewhere where she couldn't see.

"Yes and I did! I asked if I could come in and you didn't answer."

"Well that means that you don't come in."

"I _know _that but I didn't think you would mind."

"You didn't think, but you didn't know for a fact."

"Look, can we stop arguing? I'm _sorry _I came in and I'm _sorry _I bothered you. I'm just interested in getting to know you but you're making it seem very evident to me that you don't want anything to do with me...but not just me, everyone," she said, watching him carefully.

"What are you talking about? I don't act like that."

"Yes you do!"

"Okay, think what you want. It's fine with me."

---

He felt his head spinning as Yuffie continued talking and droning on. However, something caught his attention.

"...you're making it seem very evident to me that you don't want anything to do with me...but not just me, everyone," she said, watching him carefully.

"What are you talking about? I don't act like that."

"Yes you do!"

"Okay, think what you want. It's fine with me."

Did he _really _act like that? He couldn't help it. He didn't make it his goal to personally attack or ignore people. And act like that? He couldn't help it. He didn't make it his goal to personally attack or ignore people. And Yuffie was saying that he did?

She laid back on the bed, facing him on her side, one hand under the pillow. "I wish we could talk more."

"We do talk," he replied, dreading the way the conversation was going. He cared about Yuffie, he really did, but sometimes she could just get annoying with her talk of 'talking more' or whatever she said that annoyed him which was...almost everything.

"No we don't. Whenever I say something you act like, after I'm finished, you just woke up and are now paying attention."

"Well I was listening to you about the whole aging thing." Pause. "Look—I shouldn't have to explain every little thing I do to you! It's tedious and if I asked you why you're so damn inquisitive every time _you _ask me a question then I'm sure you would get pretty upset too, because you ask way too many questions."

Why did they fight this way? It wasn't even angry fighting. It was more like they were debating with each other. And it happened incessantly. Did she enjoy annoying him and _that _was why she constantly asked him questions?

Did _he _enjoy it without realizing it?

He felt his stomach flip and a quick dizzy wave pass over his head. He laid back on the bed with her. She didn't seem to be responding to his last words. She was staring at the ceiling, instead, a dreamy expression on her face.

"Doesn't that look like a house to you?" she asked, pointing a finger at the stucco on the ceiling. He raised his eyebrow. She never ceased to amaze him.

"What does that have to do with what we were talking about?" he questioned, though he certainly could see the house where she was pointing.

"I don't know. I didn't feel like talking about that anymore."

He sighed. "Why don't you make up your mind?"

"I did."

He rolled over away from her and squeezed the bridge of his nose. He really was not feeling well and Yuffie was just confusing him more than she usually did.

"Yeah, all right," he muttered, closing his eyes.

---

"What's wrong? Do you need me to grab the bowl?" she asked, sitting up on one elbow. He shook his head.

"No, I'm fine. Just dizzy."

She gave him a worried expression. "Are you sure that it's normal to have dizzy spells?"

"I said I'll be fine."

"Okay, okay! Do you want me to give you a Yuffie specialty?"

"What's that?" he asked cautiously, his voice slightly muffled.

"This," she replied, sitting up and straddling his waist with her legs. "Just relax."

She applied her hands to his back and rubbed slowly, her eyes widening slightly. "You're really hot through this shirt. You must have a bad fever," she commented, continuing to rub him.

"Quit, Yuffie, I don't need a backrub," he replied, struggling to get on his stomach.

"Yes you do! You know you want one," she grinned, pinning him to place. A soft knock at the door made both her _and _Squall jump.

"Wow. This is awkward," Cloud commented, watching them amazed. It really must have been; Yuffie was still straddling Squall and she was, to make it worse, pinning him to the bed. It could be very easily misinterpreted.

"Cloud! You're supposed to be at work!" Squall hissed, his face suddenly turned a deep red. He pushed Yuffie off, but he needn't have done so, because she was already rolling off of him. She felt her face heat up as she glanced at Cloud.

"Cid sent me over here to see 'why the hell you aren't at work,' as he put it. You don't look sick to me. It looks like you two were playing hooky. Now, I know you two are newlyweds, but that doesn't mean you should let things get out of—"

"Cloud, you sick perve!" Yuffie shrieked, covering her face as if the very thought disgusted her. "You know _you're _the one who started this!"

"I know. I'm genius, aren't I? Well I better get back to work before Cid has my head," Cloud said, still eyeing the two. Squall gave him a scowl and a dirty look as he was leaving.

"Who does he think he is?" he muttered. "Walking into my house without knocking and accusing us of...of..."

Yuffie smirked. "You were _blushing. _The great Leon, blushing! Ha!" she laughed.

"Speak for yourself. Your face was looking a little pink, Great _Nerd _Yuffie," he said, perfectly deadpan.

She scoffed. "I thought you could come up with better than that."

Without waiting for his answer, she pushed him back on the bed and threw a cover over his body then walked into the kitchen humming after telling him to 'stay.'

Soon Yuffie found herself scouring the kitchen cabinets once again, trying to look for some soup which she had stupidly forgotten to buy, since soup happened to be one of her favorite quick dinners other than McDonald's.

Stuffed in the back of the cabinet she found what she had been looking for: two cans of soup. She put one on the counter for later and brought the soup, which was chicken noodle, to the stove and started up some water to boil.

In a minutes she had the soup boiling over the stove. She stirred it occasionally and took tiny taste tests. "Excellente!" she exclaimed in extremely poor Spanish.

"Squall, I have hot soup!" she called, two rags wrapped around her hands as she carried the now finished bowl of soup to Squall's room.

She pushed the door open all the way with her shoulder. "Oh Squall!"

Yuffie stopped calling out when she noticed that Squall's eyes were blissfully closed and his mouth slightly open in sleep. She smiled and set the soup on the end table for later. She watched him a few moments before sitting on the edge of the bed and studying him.

She placed a cool hand on his forehead. She was right, he did have a bad fever. She hesitated for a few moments, then kissed his cheek gently and stood up. She rushed out of the room, suddenly feeling embarrassed, but not before she whispered a, "'Night, Squall," before leaving.

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_'Kay, I TRIED to put some fluff in there. How was that? Another prolonged chapter, but I got it out quicker than the other one. I know, it's short. Eight pages, 2,700 some words. Ah well, I tried! I hope you review for me!! _

_Also—don't you want to know what it was that Squall was looking at? And NO, it wasn't Rinoa. So there._

_XOXO_


	6. Ski Trip 1

_Hee, here I am again! I got some really encouraging reviews last chapter...so I really would like to thank you all...you don't know how much it means to me! Here is the next chapter. Oh yeah...and I cannot believe how much of you actually thought it was some kind of porn that Squall was looking at last chapter! Haha! Er...slight FF VIII spoilers in here..? I'm changing some things around, obviously, but still... ya know... if it turns out that you feel like it's a spoiler (some people have different opinions on them) don't say I didn't warn you!_

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_The Sparrow Sings_

_Chapter Six_

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"This place really needs some Yuffie charm," she told herself, standing in the middle of Squall's living room early next morning, one hand on her hip that held her weight and her other hand by her mouth, contemplating.

Her eyes flashed with a mischievous glint. She had an idea. And while Squall was bedridden and currently sleeping...what better time to home "decorate?"

She knew why she wanted to change the house around. It was too immaculate, too perfect. It just needed a little bit of a charm. A comfortable charm. Not this 'plastic-covered-couch-don't-touch-that-vase' feeling that it held with pride.

Dashing over to the closet by the bathroom, she pulled out a cool chenille blanket and went back to the living room and threw it carelessly over the couch. She stood by the bookcase, ordered from A-Z, and randomly pulled them out and stuck them in different places, and not all upright. She grabbed a plant off a shelf and stuck it in there and smiled with satisfaction.

Next, she walked outside in only her pajama bottoms and a strappy tank and grabbed the newspaper and, pulling it out of its morning dew covered plastic she set it upon the coffee table as if someone had been reading it.

After making some more fixes in other rooms, including the bathroom, she took her drink, plopped down on the couch, and propped her feet up onto the coffee table. She marveled at how quickly the atmosphere had changed from stiff to comfy in only about an hour.

She didn't know if Squall would like it, in fact, she pretty much knew he wouldn't. But she liked it, and she was in charge from now on. When Squall had agreed to the bet, he didn't know what he was getting into. Oh, no. Yuffie was going to dominate.

And he had no choice.

She giggled and set the glass down on the coffee table (something she would have never dared to do before, especially without a napkin underneath) and flipped on the T.V. just as she heard a noise coming from the bedroom.

"Yuffie?" called Squall, walking down the hall. He looked like Death itself. His face was as pale as a ghost, and his eyes had huge dark bags underneath his eyes, as if he hadn't gotten any sleep. Yuffie wouldn't know, she didn't sleep in the same bed as him; to respect him she had slept on the couch.

"Whoa, you look like Dracula," she commented, raising an eyebrow at him. He gave her a look and she shrugged. "Get back in bed, I already called work. You're too sick."

"I'm going to take a shower," he replied as if he hadn't heard her, gripping a clean T-shirt and pants, and stumbled down the hallway. He hadn't noticed her work in the living room. Either he was too sick, or he didn't give a damn.

She felt slightly let down. She had been expecting him to blow up at her. But, all the better, she wouldn't get in trouble.

Letting her legs down with a sigh, she entered Squall's bedroom, her nose wrinkled in distaste as she took his barf bowl and rinsed it off as quickly and efficiently as she could. She returned it to his bedside and picked up the tray of food which she could see with a secret delight, had been eaten. She tossed it into the sink and skipped back to the bedroom, pulling the blankets, pillows, and sheets off the bed to change them when a something fluttered to the ground.

Curious, she knelt down onto the floor and picked it up. She turned the blank side over to find that it was a picture. Was it what Squall had been looking only the day before?

The picture was of a woman and a man. The woman was fairly young, with long brown hair and a kind look to her eyes that when she smiled, the corners crinkled and dimples appeared on both cheeks. She looked uncannily like Squall. The man had his arms wrapped around the woman. He had longish, dark hair, for a man, anyway, and looked just as happy as the woman.

A droplet of water splashed onto her arm. She sighed. Was the roof leaking? But it wasn't raining. Another droplet splashed onto her arm, then another. Then a voice.

"Those were my parents," said a deep voice from behind her.

She jumped up from her kneeling position on the ground and turned around to face Squall, dressed in the clothes he had taken with him to the bathroom, though his hair was dripping wet.

"I-I'm so, so sorry, Squall. Really I am. I was going to change your bed covers and sheets and then the picture just fell out—I mean—I never meant to—"

"It's all right," he replied, not exactly meeting her gaze but sitting on the bed instead. Yuffie sat next to him and swung her legs awkwardly, unsure what to say next. Realizing she still had the picture in her hand, she quickly thrust it into his and gave a nervous laugh.

"Are they...are they dead?" she finally asked. She immediately felt embarrassed as her sentence hung in the air in the tense silence.

"Yeah," he replied. "The woman, my mother...she died when I was a baby."

He sighed and racked his hands through his drying hair. Yuffie uttered a sympathetic sound, and felt herself compelled to touch his hand. He seemed to be struggling with himself, like he had never told anyone about his past before, and didn't want to, but the other part of him wanted to talk to someone.

Finally, Yuffie gave in and took his hand and squeezed it encouragingly. Instead of pulling away, Squall let her grip it and then started to talk again.

"I never knew her. I never knew my father, either. I was put in an orphanage at the time. I grew up with friends, but... I always felt distant. I wanted... I wanted someone to..."

Yuffie bit her lip, feeling her eyes tear up for him. He seemed to be trying so hard to get it all out, but he was choking up, even though no tears surfaced to his eyes.

"...I guess I wanted a mother and father. I never knew parents. I never had someone to teach me things and teach me to love unconditionally. I grew up knowing hard and cold and no matter what you wished for you wouldn't get it... ever. I always knew the fantasy things like Santa weren't real, and I never really had a real Christmas. You really are lucky to have parents, Yuffie," he said, pulling his hand back.

Yuffie watched him silently. She was at a loss for words. She wanted to comfort him but she didn't know how. How could she ever do anything that would make up for what he never had?

"When I was old enough I left the place. I worked a lot of jobs so I could pay for college. Once I graduated I drove by the orphanage...it had been shut down," he said, pausing. "I met Cid and he offered me a position at his work. I've been working there ever since, and the pay is good. A few years ago I got a call from my "father." Well, from his representatives. They said that he was in the hospital, brain dead. A living, breathing vegetable."

Yuffie felt her breath draw in and immediately her thoughts flashed back to when she had first, somehow, made a joke about vegetables, and how he had stiffened. Suddenly, she understood.

"I visited him. God damnit, why did I visit him?!" he said angrily, shaking his head back and forth. "I saw the man that had _abandoned _me and... I lost it. I couldn't take it. I watched them pull the plug on him. I didn't stop them. They sent me some of his stuff and his will. I inherited money and anything from his house before they all sold it... like the picture. I never got to ask him why he didn't want me."

Yuffie re-laid her hand on his arm and squeezed it, her heart breaking for him. Watching him like that was painful. "There are reasons why they can't, Squall. Maybe he did want you but he couldn't. Maybe it was too painful."

Squall didn't say anything. He sat leaning over, his head in his hands. Yuffie was surprised he had opened up like he did. Perhaps his sickness had made him not care, anymore, and he felt weak. Weak physically, and weak emotionally, and he wanted to tell someone.

Yuffie wrapped her arms around him, her cheek resting on his back. She felt it was the only thing she could do to comfort him.

"Thanks, Yuffie, but I don't need your pity. I shouldn't have mentioned anything..." he said, sitting up and standing.

Yuffie stood up as well. "You can't always keep things inside of you, like that. They'll just build up more and more until you can't take it. And I'm glad you told me... now I can understand where you're coming from better. I don't think any less of you, you know, now that you told me and all."

"Thanks," he said again.

"I hope you don't think I'm intruding. I mean, maybe they were right, don't you think maybe... I don't want you to think that I'm never leaving. I'll go if you want," Yuffie offered, feeling like she had crossed some line and now she knew their relationship would never be the same again. She couldn't tell for the better or for the worse.

"I don't want you to leave, Yuffie. We agreed on this, right?" he said, walking towards the door. She reached out to grab his arm.

"Where are you going? You're sick. Get in bed," she ordered, feeling happy at his reply.

"I'm better, now," he replied, but obliged without much problem. Yuffie felt her cheer to herself on the inside. He always let her win.

"Good. Do you want anything? Soup? Pop?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I'm a great cook!"

Squall raised his eyebrow, and seemed back to his normal self. "Since when?"

"What do you mean, since when? I've always been a great cook!" she said defensively.

"Mm..."

"I'll show you!" she said, stalking out of the room, in a not-so-angry way. She leaned against the kitchen counter, humming to herself. The whole thing about being a good cook was a total lie. She wasn't a good cook...unless it came to frozen foods, which was much more her style.

That didn't mean she couldn't pretend.

Opening the freezer she pulled out frozen vegetables and put it on the counter next to her then pulled out ready-made chicken fingers. She snickered and was already weaving something to tell him.

'_Squall, I made these carrots & peas and chicken myself. I even breaded the chicken breast after I cut it to be the size of a chicken finger.'_

She laughed to herself, wondering if she had the nerve to tell him that. Before, she wouldn't have thought twice, but now... now, she didn't exactly _want _to lie to him. Not that she had wanted to before, but she hadn't been so reluctant.

After popping the chicken in the oven and putting the vegetables in the microwave, she sat down at the kitchen table with her head leaning onto her palm and her other hand drumming its fingers onto the table top.

A pile of mail sat in front of her from the other day. She picked them up and sorted through them, bored, not really looking at them at all, just trying to find something to do with her hands while she waited.

A flashy looking travel brochure caught her eye. On the cover, a large mountain covered in snow with tiny looking skiers (at least tiny against the mountain) skiing down the side, snow flying up on both sides of their feet. She opened it up, now more interested than ever, and started reading the introductory paragraph.

She bit on her nails, staring at the brochure. Winter was here already, although it was barely noticeable. The temperature barely dropped below seventy degrees, nor was there snow. She had never seen snow in her life. Not only that, but Christmas was only two weeks away.

An idea formed in her head as a sly smile formed across her face. Wouldn't it be so fun for Aerith, Kairi, and her to go skiing together? With her "husband" and his friends of course. She could show off and flaunt around with him.

A ding from the microwave shook her out of her thoughts. She prepared the vegetables on a plate and when the chicken was finished, she pulled that out too, arranging them both on a plate with a cup of coffee, making sure to make it look nice.

Brushing off her shorts and her shirt, she walked with the tray into Squall's room. He was sitting up in bed, hair falling into his eyes, which were plastered onto the screen of the laptop.

"Squall," she sang, stretching out his name, "I've got your marvelous dinner!"

She set it down next to him then sat down. He raised his eyes momentarily, muttering a brief thanks. She continued staring at him until he shifted uncomfortably.

"What is it, Yuffie?" he asked with a sigh, glancing up again.

"I have a preposition," she said, a glimmer in her eyes. He looked at her suspiciously.

"What kind of preposition?" he asked, watching her closely.

"I think every once in awhile, a person needs a change of scene."

"Yes..."

"Well, why don't me, you, Aerith, Kairi, and some of your friends go skiing on the mountains? Like, Cloud and Sora and Riku. It'd be so perfect and fun! I've never seen snow before," she gushed excitedly.

"You've never seen snow before?" he repeated, scratching the back of his head.

"Never! I've lived here all my life and my parents never really took vacations out of state, at least, not with me," she said, blushing slightly.

He seemed to be contemplating it. "I...have been saving up money for a big trip..."

She knew she had him. "Oh, I have money too! So does Aerith and Kairi, and with Cloud's position, you can _bet_ he has the money! And Sora and Riku... well, even though they're slackers I'm sure it wouldn't cost so much! And we can spend Christmas there! It would be so wonderful! Two weeks in the mountains. How cozy, huh?"

He sighed, but his eyes betrayed him. Yuffie could see he was interested. "You were looking at that brochure weren't you?"

"Yup. So can we go? Can we? I'll call up Aerith and Kairi right now."

"Well, if we can get a hotel... they probably have a lot of reservations... but other than that..."

"Oh Squall, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she squealed, launching herself across the bed and hugging him hard then almost as quickly as she had come she pulled off and was prancing down the hall towards the phone.

Squall chuckled and shook his head and took a bite of chicken. Coughing and choking, he spit it back out onto the tray, and, making sure Yuffie wasn't there, he spooned most of it into the trash.

"Hopefully the food at the ski place will be better."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_It's a bit short, I know, but I had to end it early because I didn't want the trip to interfere with this chapter. I will _try _really hard to get this out on Christmas or before but I really can't make any promises. I hope you enjoyed and please review!_


	7. Ski Trip 2

--------------------------------------------------------------------

_The Sparrow Sings_

_Chapter Seven_

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Yuffie jumped excitedly up and down, tugging on Squall's arm, bouncing from one foot to the other, a grin plastered on her face despite her anxiousness to get on the road to pick everyone up.

"Come _on, _Squall, Cloud is waiting in the van just for you! Why couldn't you have packed yesterday?!"

"Because there was no point in it. Besides, at least I didn't pack the very same day that we decided we were going."

"Did you call work and make sure to tell them that _all _of us won't be at work for a week?"

"Yes."

"Good. I am just so excited!" she gushed, tugging harder on his arm. He groaned and slammed the suitcase's lid shut and let himself be dragged across the living room and onto the driveway. Yuffie kept a firm grip on his arm until they reached Cloud's van, almost empty except for his own suitcase and himself in the driver's seat. They had yet to pick everyone else up.

Yuffie climbed in first, followed by Squall. She sat down in one of the seats and buckled herself in, a sigh forming on her lips.

"I'm so hot," she breathed, waving a hand in front of his face.

Squall, from the passenger's seat, rolled his eyes. "Maybe because you're wearing a coat and gloves in seventy degree weather."

Cloud raised his eyebrows and stared at Yuffie from the mirror as he was pulling out. "_Why?"_

Yuffie scowled. They were making an evident joke of her. "Because! It will be freezing when we get there and then you will be just begging me to lend you my coat."

"THAT coat? I highly doubt it," Cloud replied, keeping his eyes on the road. Yuffie turned her eyes to look down at her coat. It was fluorescent pink and yellow, and rather outdated. She had just never had the time to go and buy another one.

"Now…is this the apartment?" Cloud asked. He bit back his words when two waving girls standing in the middle of the parking lot jumped in front of the car, waving frantically, one red haired and the other a mahogany brown.

"God damnit!" he hissed, pressing on the brakes. Both girls screamed then broke into fits of giggles. "What the hell is that? They are laughing when they could have been killed."

Squall shook his head. "I can't believe those are your friends."

"Speak for yourself!" Yuffie snorted, thinking back to Riku and Sora.

The van door opened and Kairi and Aerith, both still giggling and holding their suitcases, squeezed in next to Yuffie. Kairi threw her arms around Yuffie's shoulders and squeezed them, followed by an over-excited Aerith.

"Think you could call once in awhile?" she scolded, then looked to Squall, then to Yuffie, then back to Squall and Yuffie again. She made a motion with her hand, signifying they were together, and a slow smile crept onto her face. "Oh, I get it. It looks like we might actually lose, huh, Kai?"

"Uh-oh," Kairi added, playing along. Yuffie blushed and shoved them, too embarrassed to see Squall's reaction.

"We will win, but that doesn't mean we're a pair," she said with a sigh.

"Sure," they both added, and broke into more giggles. She could see Squall rubbing a hand over his face, as if he couldn't believe he was about to spend multiple hours in a cramped van with three giggling girls.

They weren't _really _on the road until Sora and Riku climbed into the farthest seats in the back, and they were on the freeway.

"It smells like moldy tacos back here!" Riku complained, kicking away a container of half rotten nacho cheese with a disgusted look on his face.

"You can handle it. After all, that's what your place smells like everyday, isn't it?" Yuffie asked with mock innocence, turning around in her seat and batting her eyelashes.

"Bitch…" he muttered under his breath.

"Hoe!" Yuffie shot back, sticking her tongue out.

"Slut."

"Man-slut!"

"Douche."

"MAN DOUCHE!"

"Whore!"

"STUPID FUDGE LICKING MAN LOVING BOOGER EATING MAN WHORE!" Yuffie screeched at the top of her lungs, her face red and boiling hot. Riku backed away, holding his hands up.

"Please…don't hurt me…" he whispered.

"That's enough!" Aerith shouted over the noise of the car. "Yuffie, sit _down. _Riku, leave her _alone!"_

"She started it!" he shot back after Yuffie had turned around, still fuming.

_"I did not!" _

"Did too."

"Just. Shut. The. Hell. Up," Cloud hissed from the driver's seat, making a swift turn to the far right lane. "I cannot concentrate with all of your screaming. If I have to come back there…" he warned, shaking his head, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.

Yuffie sighed and grabbed her pillow and squeezed it to her chest. The past few hours had been absolute horror for her. Leaning into the pillow, she asked, "Are we there yet?"

"No, for the final time," Squall replied for Cloud, who had remained surprisingly quiet during the whole trip. "You'll know when we're there."

"Well. We must be close. I think I see a mountain!" Yuffie said, her sentence turning from stubborn to excited again. She pressed her nose to the window which was starting to grow frosty from the ever growing cold.

"Really? Where?" Kairi asked, scooting closer to the window towards Yuffie, her eyes anxious.

"Look! Just above that bridge. It looks like there's snow on top!"

"Oh I see it!" she said happily, staring at it as if it were some sort of circus for a few seconds, then turning her attention back to Sora and starting some small talk. Yuffie rolled her eyes and turned away as well, closing her eyes and leaning against the seat.

_'Not much longer now…' _she thought, yawning lightly.

-----

"Yuffie. Yuffs. Yuffie…_wake up!" _

"Huh…?" Yuffie mumbled, struggling to open her eyes. Everything around her looked white and blurry. She sat up slowly, keeping one eye shut in her tiredness. "Whaddya want?"

"We're here," Aerith said, shaking her shoulder slightly, as if she didn't believe that Yuffie was up yet.

Yuffie yawned and nodded, her vision slowly growing clearer. Aerith climbed out of the car, dragging her suitcase with her. Kairi, Riku, Sora, Cloud, and Squall were all waiting outside the car for her. Realizing that she was stalling them, she jumped out of the car, taking her suitcase with her, and locking the car door behind her.

As her foot stepped onto the ground, she felt coldness surround her foot and a chilled powdery substance drop into her shoe.

"Ah!" she hissed. "Cold!"

Smiling, she stared at the sparkly, sugary white snow surrounding her shoes. "Look! It's snow!" she stated happily, bending over and picking up a handful and stuffing it into her mouth.

"Mmm… it even tastes good!" she mumbled, eating more, her cheeks flushed from the cold.

"C'mon, it's cold and everyone wants to get into the hotel," Squall said, grabbing her arm and pulling her up. "Don't act like a three year old, all right?"

She pulled away from him. "I told you! I told you you'd be cold. Look who's right," she said with a smirk, a hand on her hip, staring at Squall and the rest who were dressed in pants and T-shirts.

"We know, you were right. Let's get going; we can't stay out here all day," Cloud said, starting forward towards the ski resort doors, dragging his feet through the snow.

Yuffie followed begrudgingly, lifting one foot at a time to take another step forward. The snow reached the middle of her calves, and she was finding it almost as hard as trying to walk through a shallow swimming pool.

"Don't they ever salt this or… or something?" Kairi said, who was slightly farther ahead than the rest.

"Evidently not," Riku muttered, picking himself up, his face plastered with snow and his clothes looking rather… white.

Yuffie snickered secretly to herself. _'Serves him right,' _she thought, turning away and reaching the sidewalk, jumping onto it triumphantly.

Noticing everyone but Riku and Sora were entering the sliding doors to the ski resort, Yuffie sprinted towards them, trying hard to breathe in the cold weather. It was making her lungs feel odd. She coughed and stepped inside, pausing to take in the lobby.

It was wood flooring, but there was a large deep red rug covering most of it up. On one wall was a large stone fireplace and a sitting place, and next to it stairs and elevators. On the other wall was a long counter of staff members, though only two were working at the moment.

"Why didn't you guys wait for me?" Yuffie breathed, arriving at Aerith's side, tugging on her sleeve slightly.

"I don't know," Aerith blushed, her eyes flickering at Cloud for a brief moment and then returning to Yuffie, looking sorry for not thinking of her. Yuffie rolled her eyes and rested her arm on the counter, but once again, everyone else was ahead of her, and Squall had already passed out the room cards.

"Wait… who am I roomed with?" Yuffie questioned, looking around.

"You're with Kairi and Aerith," Squall replied.

"Wait," Sora interrupted loudly. "You and Yuffie are supposed to be in the same room together."

Squall scowled. "No, we're not. I'm rooming with Cloud."

"No, Sora's right," Cloud added, stepped forward with the key. "If you're going through with this bet, then you have to be in the same room.

"But that room only has a queen sized bed, not two double beds," he protested, his voice firm.

Cloud's jaw dropped. "What? Were you expecting me to sleep in the same bed as you? No way, man."

"I was going to make you sleep on the floor, idiot."

"Oh. Wait… hey!"

"Yeah, well, according to the Squall-man over here, me 'n' Sora've got an extra roll out bed on the couch," Riku said with a grin, slapping a hand on Squall's shoulder.

"Leon," he corrected.

"Well, that settles it. I'm rooming with Riku and Sora, Kairi and Aerith are rooming together, and you and lovey-dove Yuffie get the suite together," Cloud said with a grin.

Yuffie stomped her foot. "I wanted to room with Aerith and Kairi! You guys are taking this bet way too far."

"Only for our enjoyment," Riku said with a sly smile.

"Ugh! Don't talk to me, you little twerp. Now we can't stay up late all night and talk about girl stuff," she replied, crossing her arms and throwing a dirty look at Squall. "This is all your fault!"

"How is it _my _fault? They're the ones who are switching all this shit around," he said, looking down at her.

"It-it just is!" she said, huffing. "Let's get to our room before I punch someone."

"Settle down, Yuffie," Sora said, laughing. He had never seen her so irritated before. She turned her back to him and pulled the key card of hers and Squall's from Cloud's hand and stalked off towards the stairs instead of the elevator, where she made it a point to make loud stomping noises as she went.

"Moody," Cloud muttered, shaking his head. "I feel for you, Leon."

"Yeah. We send our sympathies," Sora chimed.

Kairi rolled her eyes and flicked Sora's ear. He grabbed it, doubled over, and grumbled, "Ouch! That hurt you know."

"Let's go to our room, Aerith," Kairi said, ignoring him and pressing the elevator button. Cloud shrugged and the men followed the two women to the elevator.

------

Yuffie stuck the key into the keycard, which answered her by spitting it out and a blinking red light on the door handle. "Ugh! This is the right key, stupid, now work."

She stuck it again, with the same result. Frustrated, she pushed it in again before feeling a hand grip her wrist.

"You're putting it in the wrong way."

Yuffie turned, looking up at Squall's face with a scowl.

"I knew that."

Squall remained silent as she fumbled with the key and stuck it in again, and sighed as the green light blinked into her eyes. "Finally."

She swung the door open and searched for a light switch, her hand patting at the walls until she felt a plastic knob and flicked it on. Dim lights flooded the room.

"Oh!" she squealed, clapping her hands together. The room had white carpeting, and down the hall she could see a large, white blanketed bed. "This is so pretty! You shouldn't have spent so much money for the suite," she chided, stepping farther into the room down the hall.

There was an entertainment center on her right, directly in front of the bed. She pulled off her shoes and examined the room closer. In the entertainment center's cabinet, a bunch of candy was arranged on the shelf.

"Look, they gave us candy!" Yuffie said, picking one up.

"They didn't 'give' it to us. You have to pay for what you eat," Squall replied, the sides of his lips twitching upwards. Yuffie put it down and closed the cabinet.

"Oh well. Say, when're we going to go on the slopes?" she asked, sitting on the bed and pulling off her coat and gloves.

"Tomorrow. It's too late now," he replied, walking into the bathroom and closing the door behind him. Yuffie smiled and stood up, looking outside. It _was _starting to get rather dark. The sky had a purplish tint to it and the road outside wasn't as busy as it had been before.

She opened her suitcase and pulled out her pajamas, eyeing the bathroom door. She didn't hear any noise coming from in there. She shrugged, thinking, _'Oh, whatever.'_

She unbuttoned her jeans (the only pair of jeans she could find that wasn't from when she was six) and pulled on her pajama bottoms, then pulled off her shirt, the cold air of the room raising goose bumps on her bare skin.

At the same moment, she heard the door click and swing open, and out walked Squall, shirtless and dressed in a pair of silk pajama bottoms.

Dropping her pajama shirt in surprise, she screamed and covered herself up, stumbling backwards.

"What the—"

Get OUT!" she screamed, darting into the closet and slamming the door shut.

Taking deep breaths, she dropped her arms, which had been wrapped around her chest, and groaned. She had dropped her shirt and left it on the floor. Opening the door slightly, she stuck her hand out and searched for the shirt.

Feeling its satiny corners, she grabbed it and pulled it into the closet and slipped it on. Once she was sure she was in order, she opened the closet door and picked up her dirty jeans and shirt and dropped them in her suitcase, blushing and avoiding eye contact with Squall.

"You could have warned me."

"You were in the bathroom."

Yuffie sighed and sat on the bed, pulling the covers up around her. The lights were off and the TV was on. "I'm going to bed. See you in the morning."

"…'Night."

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That was a classic scene, huh! That's happened multiple times in Squffie history. Oh well, when I realized I was making her change her clothes I just couldn't resist! Not much fluff in this chapter, but it's Christmastime! (for them anyways) And you know what that means!

Note to OrangeTabby: Oh, thank you!! Your review really made me happy!! . I'm glad you like Squffie!


	8. Ski Trip 3

_

* * *

The Sparrow Sings_

_Chapter Eight

* * *

_

"Stop that!"

"I can do this if I want too," Yuffie replied indignantly, jumping on the bed, her head coming dangerously close to the ceiling. "It won't be my problem if their bed breaks."

"Yes it will. I'm not paying for your damage."

"I'll just tell them that they should apologize to you 'cause their beds can't hold up your fatness."

"More like _your _fatness," he replied, trying to put his socks on while Yuffie's weight was making him bounce around the bed.

"I'm not fat!" she replied, giving one last jump before letting herself fall down onto the bed clumsily. "I think I'm pretty hot."

"I think you're a lot of things…" Squall replied, finally getting his final sock on now that the bed had stopped shaking.

Yuffie scowled, standing up and ducking her head under the bed as if she were looking for something. "I hope that doesn't mean what I think it means," she said, her voice muffled. "Ah-hah!"

She surfaced from under the bed, grasping her shoes and waving them triumphantly in the air. "I found them."

"I'll be waiting with the others in the lobby," Squall said as if he hadn't heard her, pulling on his coat (which he had finally pulled out from his suitcase).

Yuffie gave a little yelp and grabbed his arm, pulling him back as he started towards the door. "Wait, wait for me! I just have to put on my shoes and my coat and my hat and my gloves and I'll be ready."

He sighed, obviously exasperated, and leaned against the door, his arms crossed across his chest, watching her impatiently. She seemed to be taking her grand old time, pulling on her shoes while humming to herself as if she had never wanted to do anything more than put on those shoes. It took her even longer to put on her coat, as she continued to complain that the zipper just wouldn't zip up the right way.

"Can we just go?" he finally said as she was checking her hat for lint.

"But I'm not ready yet."

"You were ready five minutes ago."

"I was _not, _I just so happened to be putting on my gloves five minutes ago."

"Odd how putting on gloves for most people takes less than five seconds but you took five minutes. I guess you're just special like that."

Yuffie stomped her foot. "Shut up already! Just because I like to take my time on things and you have to rush through them as if there's an earthquake—!"

She stopped in mid-sentence, grinning broadly, as she had finally fixed her hat to her liking. "See, that's right, we can go now. That wasn't so bad, huh?"

He tactfully chose to not reply to this sentence.

"I'll race you," Yuffie chattered as they reached the fork between the elevator and the stairs. "I'll bet I can make it downstairs quicker than you if I take the elevator."

"Try it."

Without wasting another breath, Yuffie skipped over to the elevator and pressed the button. The elevator opened with a _ding _and she stepped inside, pressing the 'close' button with a slight wave to Squall before he disappeared from view.

Teetering on her heels and the tips of her toes, whistling and twiddling her thumbs patiently, she rocked back and forth, watching the floors light up as they went down, down, down to the lobby on the first floor.

Finally, the door opened with the final _ding. _She rushed outside wildly, looking around for Squall, seeing the stairs in view. Staring up at the banister, she noticed through the wooden slots that Squall was practically still at the top, walking like he was an old man with a bad back.

"What? You didn't even try to make it down here," she complained as he reached the bottom.

"I never said I was actually going to race you," he replied with a shrug, his eyes scanning the lobby and stopping when he noticed Cloud and the others waiting by the door, looking hot in their warm clothes and impatient.

"Geez, what were you two doing up there?" Cloud asked, nudging Squall.

"Not what _you _are thinking," he replied, glaring at Yuffie. She shrugged.

"I was getting ready!" she insisted, trying to look innocent.

"Well, the slopes opened a half hour ago, and I really wanted to get there early before it became crowded," Cloud said with a sigh, rubbing his face.

"We'll get there quick enough," she sighed, rolling her eyes, giving Cloud a little shove towards the doorway. The small group walked begrudgingly towards the slopes, slowed down by the mass of coat that was layered onto their bodies.

Yuffie walked slightly behind the group, slowed even more because she was still extremely fascinated with the snow. How did it stay so soft and fluffy and sparkly? She walked in a path that was not trodden down by others getting to the slopes, and instead, dragged her feet, making a fresh one.

Kairi and Aerith dropped back from the group and fell in step with her.

"So what _did _happen last night?" Kairi asked, smiling a little.

"What do you _mean _what happened? Nothing is _going _to happen between us. I told you. We're just friends," Yuffie replied in an exasperated tone.

"That's not what I see. You're always throwing little glances over to him, looking him up and down…" Aerith said, trailing off, a glint in her eye.

"You guys seriously need to get over yourselves."

"You know, I'm actually kind of surprised at you, Yuffie. In about two weeks the deal's off. You get the money," Aerith mused, shaking her head. "And you're not cracking."

Yuffie shrugged. "He's… he's actually a great guy. He's not as cool as he seems. He just puts up a front."

"Wow. You should write a book on it. 'The Secret Mind of Squall Leonhart,'" Kairi said with a giggle.

Yuffie couldn't help herself, and laughed along with her. But, she felt protective of Squall, now. He was hers. She hated to admit it, but she didn't want anyone else to know about him or get close to him. Was she being selfish, wanting him all to herself? It was just, she felt as though they had a special connection, especially after he told her about his parents. That meant something to her, and she knew he didn't go talking about it to just anyone.

"Hey guys, stop gossiping and get your asses over here. We're getting our skis and don't come crying to me if everyone's got theirs and you have to wait," Riku said, standing at a small building with a woman behind an open window.

The woman threw Riku a withering look. "How _dare _you talk to those poor, young ladies like that! That is the most inconsiderate thing I've ever hear anyone say in a long while! You can go back to the end of the line and wait your turn…_again."_

His jaw gaping, he turned around to look at the long, long line that had gathered at the building with the hold up. The people in line stared back, though their faces were either scolding or laughing.

Muttering a few curses and throwing a glare over his shoulder to the girls, he walked to the end of the line, his arms crossed defiantly.

Yuffie rolled her eyes and took Riku's place. The woman, in turn, smiled at her. "Just fill out this little card and hand it to the man in that building to your right. He'll find the right pair for you."

Yuffie nodded and took the card, filling it out at the window. Why did they need this information? Height, weight, shoe size…? What, was there an especially strong ski pair for fat people?

She smiled and walked over to the building, leaving Kairi and Aerith behind and running through the thick snow to catch up with Squall, Leon, and Sora. She got in line with them, her breath coming in pants. "I got my ticket!"

She followed them into the building, waiting a short time in line. They handed the man their cards and he motioned for them to follow him. From a back room, he pulled out four sets of skis and handed one of the pairs to her.

"Here you go, now, will you need some explanation or are you advanced?" he asked.

"Advanced," Yuffie said quickly. How hard could skiing on two long sticks be, anyway? It would be a snap. Squall gave her a look of surprise, but said nothing.

They left the building, carrying their skis and leaning over while outside, putting them on.

"I didn't know you skied before," Squall said once they were outside.

"Oh, I didn't. But it'll be so easy."

"Whatever you say. There are different levels of hills. The hardest is the black diamond," he said, pointing to the map of the slopes that was posted to the building, "and the green are the bunny slopes. Anything in the middle is medium difficulty."

"I can definitely do the black diamond," Yuffie replied, grinning, having finished setting up her skis. "Now, can you keep up with me?"

"I've been doing this since I was seven, Yuffie. I've been on the black diamond for years, now."

Yuffie was the one surprised now. "You never told me!"

"You never asked."

She rolled her eyes. "Still."

"Hey, are you two done talking? We're going to the blue circle slopes," Cloud said, waving at Kairi and Aerith, who had just gotten their skis. "Hey guys, you're doing the blue circle slopes, too, right?"

Aerith nodded, glancing at Kairi, who gave her a look of approval. "Yes."

"Great. You guys are doing the black diamond ones, right?" Cloud said, snickering at Yuffie, as if he knew something she didn't. She replied by sticking her tongue out.

"Yes," she said firmly, grabbing Squall's arm and pulling him towards the ski lifts. "So let's go."

"I hope you know what you're up against, Yuffie. People I know that have gone on these have gotten seriously hurt."

"I'll be fine," she replied mechanically, throwing a glance over her shoulder, watching the oncoming, empty ski lift with uneasiness. "I think finding a way to jump onto this thing will be harder."

She needn't have worried. The ski lift rammed into her upper thighs, pushing her right back into the seat, making her nearly fall over onto Squall, who had easily jumped on. She screamed loudly, throwing her arms over his neck. How had they gotten so high? They had barely been on for three seconds!

"SQUALL! OH MY GOD! WE'RE GOING TO DIE! THERE IS NO DAMN RESTRAINT! WE'RE GOING TO FALL OFF!" she screeched, intense dizziness passing over her. She moaned, half crying, the ground looking very high up from her point of view. "SOMEONE! HELP!"

"Yuffie!" Squall yelled over her, grabbing her shoulders firmly. "Settle down. You're shaking the lift. Do you _really _want to fall off, because in a minute we both will."

"Please, please, please, get me off, get me OFF. I said GET ME _OFF _GOD DAMNIT!"

Squall looked around him uneasily. "Yuffie, people are staring. We're almost there. Just settle down, okay?"

She sobbed, grabbing his hand and squeezing it as hard as we could. "I…can't…help it…" she rasped, her free hand trying to cover her mouth.

"Look, here we are. We're at the top of the hill," Squall said, pulling her and jumping off the lift, supporting her weight almost entirely. She collapsed onto the ground, clutching her chest and rolling around in the snow.

"I thought I was going to die!" she gasped, standing up, her face flushed and her pants coated with snow.

"Don't do that ever again," he growled. "I wouldn't have taken you on the lift if I knew you would throw a fit."

She bit her lip. "…Sorry."

"Well, are you ready?"

She looked down, another dizzy wave passing over her. She grabbed his arm again, as if she would fall over. "This… this isn't the hill? This is… this is a mountain," she choked, staring at the rocky, snow covered area, which was covered with numerous bumps that she assumed were for getting air.

"This is it. This is the biggest mountain here," he said, the corners of his lips twitching. "Sure you don't want those bunny slopes?"

Immediately, she sobered up. "Of course I'm sure!"

Squall slid behind her, grabbing her arms, standing maybe too close for comfort. His warmth was radiating off onto her.

"I… I don't need you to hold me up," she said faintly, leaning back into him.

"I don't trust you on this path," he said simply, keeping a firm grip on her. "I'll just hold you up until we're started off, then let you go.

"Sounds good." She positioned herself just before the steep inclination, giving Squall a shaky smile. "O-On three okay? One… two…"

She stared down, watching a few of the others go down, expertly weaving their way around trees and large rocks. Oh God, she was really going to die.

"… three," she whispered.

She pushed off at the same time Squall did, fear pulsing through each and every one of her veins. Even with him holding her up, she lost her balance and went toppling down the slope, screaming and covering her face with her arms. The air and snow stung her eyes, blinding her to a point where she almost couldn't make out Squall's arms around her.

"Now?" Squall called.

"NOW!" Yuffie repeated wildly.

He misinterpreted her disbelieving 'now!' for a 'now!' and let her go. She fell backwards, falling over and toppling down the hill in somersault motions, a long scream making its way to her throat.

"Shit," she heard behind her, her eyes squeezed tightly, praying she didn't hit that large rock she had seen earlier. She opened them slightly, then screamed again, seeing she had swerved off the path and was about to hit a ditch, head on.

She fell over the crevice and straight into the ditch, hitting her head on an unidentifiable object. Darkness faded over her, her eyelids fluttering until they eventually closed all the way.

When she opened them again, Squall was leaning over her, his features blurry, but she could still recognize the fear hidden deep within the depths of his eyes.

She blinked tears out of her eyes until her vision cleared, though she could feel the familiar trickle of water go down the side of her cheek. "Ow. I think I'm ready for the bunny slopes now."

"Are you okay? Damnit, I told you you weren't ready!" he said, sounding angry, pulling off his coat, and then his T-shirt.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked, sitting up, her head throbbing.

"Using this to tie around your head," he replied grimly, tearing off a piece of his T-shirt with his teeth, his bare chest starting to grow red in the cold.

"My head? And Squall, you are still recovering from being sick, should you really…" she trailed off when she put a hand to her head, feeling a warm, sticky substance that ran all the way down her cheek. So it hadn't been tears.

She studied her hand, which was now covered with crimson blood. She glanced around her confused, then spotted a snow covered, jagged rock sticking out of the white powder. "Oh…"

"I told you," he repeated, putting his coat back on, minus the T-shirt, and tying a strip of it onto her head. She took it off.

"I don't want that thing on my head. I'll leave proud and bloody, thanks," she said, trying to stand up but she realized she still had her skis on as she fell over.

"Hold on," he muttered, standing up, holding his shirt balled up in his fist. He pulled off her skis, and she noticed his were off and set down next to him.

"Why are we taking them off?" she asked, puzzled.

"One," he said, extending his hand to pull her up, which she took gratefully, "I don't think we'll be skiing for a little while. And two, we need to climb out of this ditch."

She blushed, thoroughly embarrassed that she had thought she could ski. Who was she kidding?

"How did you get down here?"

"I took off my skis and jumped down," he replied, picking up both pairs of skis and carefully setting one foot into the snow. As soon as he had, he realized the snow was too powdery and the ditch too steep to make it up there.

"I think we're stuck here," he said dully, sinking back onto the ground. Until someone finds us, that is."

"Oh no. Squall, we're going to freeze to death!" she gasped, wrapping her arms around herself and hugging herself close. "I'll never get to say sorry to Riku! I'll never be able to make fun of Sora! I won't get to tell my mom that I lied to her about throwing my stuffed animals out!"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "We won't freeze to death."

She crawled over to him and sat. "I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have said that I was a good skier when I wasn't. Otherwise, we wouldn't be stuck here."

"Whatever," he replied. She groaned.

"I hate it when you say that," she said, leaning her back against the side of the ditch.

He didn't reply, only closed his eyes and brought his knee up to his chest and draped one arm casually across it. She muffled her giggles at how odd he looked. It was as if he had fallen asleep in his position.

With a long, drawn out (and unneeded) sigh, she laid her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes as well.

"Yuffie… Yuffie… Squall…hey!" yelled a distant voice. Blearily, she raised her eyes and looked up, trying to make out the figures above her in the darkness of the night. What had happened? Was it dark already? How long had they been there together?

"You're going to be okay!" the man called, lowering himself down with a rope, the other three men holding it steadily. "You first, Yuffie."

She yawned, not really taking in the situation thoroughly. "How do you know my name…?"

He chuckled. "Maybe because you're the only girl reported missing when some witnesses informed us of seeing a half crazed girl go flying into a ditch. Then they mentioned another missing man. Now grab on to me."

Yuffie took hold of the man, looking down at Squall, who was only just waking up. He looked at her without registering where they were, the haze of sleep still bleary in his eyes. She felt herself being pulled up, up… higher, until she was on the ground. Maybe not hard ground, not firm ground, but soft snowy ground, better than being stuck in a ditch.

Not soon after, the man had Squall out of the ditch, who was looking absolutely chilled without his shirt. She touched her head, feeling the cloth sticky with her blood. She shuddered, but not from the cold.

"I'm sorry, Squall," she said sincerely, putting her hand in his. He squeezed it lightly back, and she smiled.

* * *

I'm like so sorry! I know I haven't updated in forever. And sorry to cut the chapter short. I actually meant to make it much, much longer, but I got a new computer in my room (yay!) and this chapter was sitting unfinished on this computer. So I decided to finish it up so I could work on the other one in my room. Again, I am so sorry… I've kind of been on hiatus. Hopefully, I won't be for long.

Please review, even if it is to yell at me!


	9. Ski Trip 4: End of the Beginning

_My internet is down so I thought, _Why not write on Sparrow? _So here I am, writing. It's been so beautiful lately. I've been practically bounding around the house cleaning (for money, of course, ha!) and calling friends and getting out of the icky, dreary, blah mood of winter. God, now that spring's here, I realize how utterly crappy winter is. And also… I am so scarily behind with this story. It's still their Christmastime. And I just realized something horrible about what I wanted to end the story on, and I realize now there is no way I could possibly _end _it like that. I am really mad about that. Anyways, enjoy._

* * *

The Sparrow Sings  
Chapter Nine

* * *

Yuffie sipped a mug of stale hot chocolate, and though old, it was warm and good to her chilled hands, which, through their numbed cold, could barely feel the heat of it stinging her fingers. It had been forcefully shoved into her hands after someone had draped two layers of thick, itchy wool blankets over her shoulders. The same treatment was given to Squall, who was looking far worse off than she was, though _she _was the one that had had the head injury. 

The men who had pulled them out of the ditch hadn't asked any questions other than the usual, _Are you badly hurt? Is anything broken? _and uttering a few words on how to stay safe while skiing before leaving them in the lobby of the hotel.

She felt her cheeks thawing slowly, and the warmth of the fire in front of her stung her cheeks more than it should have. Squall had tossed his blanket aside and hadn't even touched _his _hot chocolate. Yuffie stared at her almost empty cup and held back the intense desire to take a sip of his, which was steaming delectably.

"Aren't you going to drink that? God, you look a wreck," she said, raising her eyebrows. It was true; his lips were slightly blue and he had spent a long while in the snow without much of a shirt.

"I don't want…" he said, not finishing the sentences. Yuffie almost spit the last sip of her hot chocolate out of her mouth when she realized he was trying to hold his chin straight, which was trembling against his will.

"Are you okay? You look like you've got hypothermia or something," she said, not one ounce of sarcasm in her voice.

"No, I—" he started to say, but Yuffie had set her empty mug down and was standing next to Squall, her arms on his shoulders, forcing him to sit on the couch in front of the fire. His legs gave way and he sat down on the couch, but she was sure he would have resisted if he wasn't so cold. Wouldn't he have warmed up by now?

"Drink," she ordered, pushing his mug into his hands while draping his and her blankets over his shoulders. He glared but obliged, taking one sip, his face screwing up when he tasted it.

"I knew you weren't over your sickness," she commented, shaking her head. "Now you'll just have to suffer a relapse."

"You guys! What happened to you?" Aerith called, her green eyes large and worried as she ran over to them. "We were looking all over for you until we finally filed you as missing… I thought you guys were responsible… oh no, what's happened to Leon? What's wrong with your head!"

Yuffie sighed. "We—I—fell into a ditch and bumped my head. Squall had to come after me. It was all my fault for thinking I could do the black diamond mountains."

She furrowed her eyebrows together. "Oh no. Will you be okay? Leon looks a wreck, look, his lips are blue."

"He's getting better," Yuffie said simply. Aerith shook her head.

"No, Yuffie, that isn't normal. He needs to see someone here," she insisted, grabbing Squall's arm and lifting him up. He stood stiffly, as if it hurt him to do so. Yuffie was surprised he was letting himself be dragged around.

"He was fine before!" she said, watching Aerith drag him away. Great.

She sat by the fire a few moments more before getting up and searching for the room key in her jean pockets. She put a hand over it and climbed the stairs to their room before sliding the key card in and stepping inside.

She shut the door behind her, not bothering to put the chain lock on in case Aerith brought Squall back later and used his key. She pulled off her wet clothes and dressed in one of Squall's long shirts and a pair of pajama bottoms, flicking on the T.V. and surfing the channels.

"Christmas tomorrow folks, and the snow is falling like crazy," said one weather man as she passed channel seven. She flicked onto the next channel, then stopped and went back to channel seven, her eyes widening. It was Christmas Eve already, and she hadn't even realized it? Oh, man.

Yuffie frantically reached for the phone, dialing zero and waiting for the operator at the front desk to answer, telling her she would "like to place a call, please." She provided the number and waited for the operator to connect her. Soon, the phone was ringing. Twice, three times…

"Hello?" answered a familiar motherly voice. It was tired, older sounding, but the same perfect mixture of comfortableness and openness that Yuffie had grown to love in her mother.

"Mom!" Yuffie exclaimed, surprised at the overwhelming sense of homesickness and loneliness she felt, wanting to go back home, run into her mother's arms, and open presents under the Christmas tree. Her eyes ached with tears that wanted to force its way to the surface, but she pushed it down.

"Yuffie? Is that really you? My, I thought you had forgotten about me," she laughed, but Yuffie could tell she was hurt.

"I'm sorry, Mom, I… got caught up with the job, and I… I moved in with someone…"

"Really? What happened with Aerith and Kairi?"

"Oh nothing, but it's a man I'm living with now…"

"Really!" she exclaimed, and Yuffie could tell there was a slight bit of agitation to her voice. "I trust you to make the right choices, Yuffie."

Yuffie grinned. Her mother had always given her space, signed the papers to allow herself to live with Aerith and Kairi when she had been underage, and let her learn from her own mistakes. That was one reason that she felt really made her love her mother.

"I know, Mom. See, it's more of a bet. If I live with him for just a little while longer, like a… married couple, but not doing _that _of course, then we get… well, something around six hundred maybe. I forgot."

"Sounds like quite a bet."

"It is, it is. But I really called because the holidays kind of crept up me and I haven't talked to you or Dad in ages."

"I know, honey. This is the first Christmas that you haven't gotten gifts under the tree," she said, sounding like she was laughing, but with an undertone of sadness under her tone.

"I've grown a lot. I think I'm a better person after this bet, I really do."

Yuffie could almost feel her mother smiling on the other end. Before she could reply, she asked, "How's Dad anyway?"

"He's doing all right. You know how he gets. He's all in a huff over you. I wouldn't be surprised if he was listening on our conversation right now."

There was a cough on the other end that had certainly not come from Yuffie's mother. She rolled her eyes. "Daddy!"

"Hey, Yuffie, how've you been?" he asked, his voice rough.

"Good," she replied awkwardly. How much had he heard?

"That's good."

There was an extended silence over the phone. "So."

"So."

"Well, I think I should be going. I'm waiting for Squall to get back and it is getting late. Merry Christmas!" Yuffie said cheerfully.

"Merry Christmas, dear," her mother replied.

"And don't buy any mistletoe," her father said.

"Love you," she said, waiting for their chorus before uttering a farewell and hanging up the phone. That had gone well.

She settled back onto the bed, her hands on her stomach. Maybe this year she wouldn't give anyone buyable gifts, only because she would be too embarrassed to give them gifts late and also because there were no stores around the ski resort that she could buy anything. Then, a genius idea hit her. Why not buy them all something from the gift shop?

Her problems resolved for the moment, Yuffie closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift into a light sleep.

* * *

Yuffie opened one of her eyes, letting it drift around the room, trying to find the source of her disturbance. She heard a sound next to her, and felt pressure on the bed. She rolled over onto her side to face the person intruding the bed: Squall. 

"Are you any better?" she asked groggily, squinting her eyes, realizing it was now in the middle of the night.

The moonlight reflected against half of his face, and Yuffie could see he had warmed up. His face was paler, not as pale as it had been the first time he had been sick, and he looked exhausted, but at least he didn't look like he would keel over.

"Yeah," he replied in the same groggy voice. Yuffie smelled something odd on him, but in her tired state, she didn't pay attention. "Merry Christmas."

Yuffie turned back on her side, glancing at the clock, watching it change from 11:59 to 12:00 A.M.

* * *

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way…" sang a chorus of little children running down the hall, their voices steadily growing louder then drifting away as they went around the corner, no doubt staying in a hotel to visit relatives during the holiday. 

Yuffie lifted her head, then dropped it back onto the pillow with a tired groan. She waited a few seconds, and when she realized she couldn't fall back to sleep, she threw the covers off of her and sat up, running her hands through her sleep matted hair.

Squall was sitting at the small table by the wall, reading a newspaper. He was looking almost back to normal, and the weird smell was gone, but his eyes were hazy and he seemed to be drifting back and forth unknowingly.

"What'd they do to you?" Yuffie questioned, standing up and pulling clean clothes from the closet. A long sleeved, cashmere sweater and a pair of beige dress pants that clung to her like a second skin. Together, the outfit looked very complimenting, especially the maroon of the sweater.

"They gave me a bunch of pills," he answered absently, raising his eyes. She raised her eyebrow and took the paper from him, turning it right side up.

"Nice one," she said, eyeing him. "Maybe you should stay in here today. What'd they give you, morphine or something?" she said, rolling her eyes.

"I don't know what it was, but I think it was a bunch of sleeping pills."

"Remind me to tell you never to come here again when you want to go on a ski trip," she said, and right after was a flurry of knockings on the hotel door. Yuffie sighed, clothes bunched up in hand, and opened the door. It was Kairi, Aerith, Riku, Cloud, and Sora, dressed in red, green, and silver, gifts in hand.

"No, no, no!" Yuffie said, shaking her head. "Not ready!"

She slammed the door on their smiling faces and darted into the shower as she heard more knocks coming on the door, but figured Squall wouldn't answer it. Although he was disoriented, he had the mind to know when he wasn't himself, a wonderful opening for Sora, Riku, or Cloud to poke fun at him.

She showered quickly and blow dried her hair, turning on the straightener and straightening her short black locks perfectly. Dressing in the clothes, she ran out of the hotel room and grabbed her jeans, which were still soggy, and searched for her wallet, which she retrieved quickly.

"Got to go, Squall, see you later!" she called, kissing him on the cheek and running out the door. By that time, the crowd had left, leaving her with at least ten or fifteen minutes to buy gifts at the shop and wrap them.

Entering the store, she quickly found what she needed. It was almost as if there were nametags on each gift, screaming, "Aerith!" (a pink and silver hairbrush with her name on it and the emblem of the resort) or "Kairi!" (two silver, jewel studded barrettes) or "Riku!" (a shirt with a witty comment on it and the emblem) or "Sora!" (a spinning silver gadget, guaranteed to keep him entertained for hours) or "Cloud" (a book of poetry) or "Squall!" (a bunch of little trinkets that she thought would remind him of her).

"Would you like these wrapped?" the cashier woman asked, pointing to her things.

"Oh, could you?" Yuffie asked, gratefully relieved. The woman nodded and expertly wrapped the gifts, handing them to her in two bags. She nodded her thanks and paid, not paying much attention to the price, and stepped into the lobby, where she ran into the crew opening gifts by the fireplace.

"Hey guys," she said, sitting on the couch where she had been the other night. "I guess everyone else knew about Christmas coming but me."

"Guess so," Cloud replied, handing her a wrapped package. She grinned and opened it, tearing the paper into shreds (it was only newspaper after all). Inside was a teddy bear, just like Cloud to give her something thoughtful.

"I can add it to my collection!" she cheered, thrusting her package into Cloud's hands. He opened it, and a small smile crossed his lips, his eyes betraying how much he really liked the gift. It was just like Cloud to be quiet about it.

"Thanks," he replied.

Everyone else exchanged gifts (everyone liked, or in Sora's case, loved, their gifts) and Yuffie's stash was something to look at as well. A teddy bear from Cloud, a hair band from Aerith, bracelets from Riku, a T-shirt from Sora, and a huge candy cane from Kairi.

Yuffie hugged them all, grinning. "Thanks. I love my gifts."

"Hey, what's up with Squall anyway? We heard what happened last night," Cloud said.

"Oh, I think he got sick again. They doped him up on sleeping pills," Yuffie said, rolling her eyes.

"Give this to him, then," he replied, handing her an envelope. "It's part of your gift, too."

Yuffie studied it. "Thanks, but… what is it?"

Everyone exchanged secretive glances then grinned back at her. "Well, wait for Squall to open it. You'll like it though," Kairi said in reply to her question.

Yuffie shrugged in stuck it in her back pocket. "I'm gonna go upstairs and see what Squall's up to, and have him open this card," Yuffie said, standing up and walking off without waiting for their replies.

She took the elevator and slipped the key into the slot, watching the dot turn from red to green and opening the door.

"Squall?" she called, stepping into the room. He walked out of the bathroom, dressed in a white shirt and pants, his hair partially dried and the sweet smell of his aftershave touching her nose.

"Hey," he replied, sitting back down in the chair at the table and picking up the paper. She sat on the other side of the table, pulling the envelope out. "This is our gift from everyone, according to Cloud."

He rubbed his eyes, which looked slightly more intelligent than earlier. "What is it?"

"That's what I would like to know," she said, grinning. "Why don't you open it and find out?"

Yuffie had a gnawing feeling in her stomach of what it could possibly be, but she didn't want to say it out loud, just in case she was wrong. It would be horrible if she said it and it turned out to be something entirely different. For all she knew, they could have bought them fake marriage licenses.

He opened the envelope slowly, and pulled out a letter. Out fell an assortment of bills, a fifty… two hundreds… and more.

"I'll… read it out loud," Squall said, his eyes skimming the paper. "_You've somehow managed to live up the right amount of time and now here is your pay for winning the bet..."_

He went on reading it, skipping some parts, until he dropped the letter and counted the money. He shook his head. "It's six hundred, exactly."

Yuffie's jaw dropped. She knew that eventually it would be time, but so soon? It felt as if they had only just started. And it was so much money…

Squall counted out some bills and handed it to her, which she counted to three hundred dollars. Her eyes filled with unshed tears, studying the face of her ex-partner in the bet.

"This is too much for me…" she whispered, dropping the money back on to the table. A heavy silence filled the room. She was free to leave. She could just pick up and go now, any time she wanted. And yet, she didn't _want _to leave. She wanted to stay here with him… everyone.

"Yuffie, you don't have to get upset…" Squall said hesitantly, looking torn, which only made her want to burst into weeping sobs.

"No, no, no…" she choked, her tears finally spilling over onto her cheeks. She didn't even understand why she was crying. She just felt, simply stated, loss.

"You don't have to cry…" he said, almost repeating what he had said before, standing up. She didn't know if it was the effect of the sleeping pills on him, or her emotion that was affecting him, but he drew her close, wrapping his arms around her, brushing his lips softly against hers under the crystal snowflakes falling slowly, slowly, from the sky…

"Merry Christmas…"

* * *

_I didn't intend to leave it off here, but I did. After this, there may be one or two more chapters and an epilogue. I don't know! This is the last of the ski trip stuff, but the ride home will be in the next chapter. Hehe. I scream, you scream, we all scream for review-creams! Or not.. hah._


	10. Home and Back

Yuffie kissed him back, her eyes widening but slowly closing as the shock wore away, though her beating heart refused to slow. She felt her legs grow weak from underneath her and leaned against him to keep herself up straight, and he wrapped his arms more tightly around her, deepening the kiss.

One hundred thoughts were flying through her mind. Since when had Squall liked her and had feelings for her? Did he really care for her, or was he just lusting after her, or wanting to play with her emotions? Most importantly… could she trust him? A voice in her head scolded her. Of course, it said. You've known Squall for quite awhile now. You can trust him. Idiot.

Gasping for breath, she pulled away, her cheeks flushed and her face hot. Squall stared at her, his lips bruised from kissing her. She smiled shyly, suddenly overcome with self consciousness. _What _was she doing?

"Maybe I shouldn't…" she said, sitting down on the bed. He sighed and sat next to her.

"Do… is it… that you don't have feelings for me?" he asked, his face slightly pale. She shook her head rapidly.

"No… I care for you… it's just… I'm scared," she said, clasping her hands together.

He didn't seem to relax. She continued quickly, "I do like you. I've never been… I've never… I've never really been in a relationship, nothing that actually went past hugging anyway," she rambled. He studied her face.

"I'm willing to take it slow."

She smiled weakly. That was what she wanted, wasn't it? Of course… hadn't she subconsciously, maybe even _consciously _fantasized about kissing him before?

"Yes, I think I like that," she said, and leaned against him.

* * *

The trip home was as tiring and uneventful as the previous one had. The excitement and giddiness of skiing and going on vacation had sorely worn out during the last of their stay, and soon they were wishing for home, where no more snow and milder weather lay. 

Yuffie fell asleep against the car door, her head drooping and popping back up, her eyelids fluttering, each time Cloud hit a road bump. Considering he was the worst driver any of them knew, it was quite often, and the sudden lethargy that had overtaken her kept trying to suck her back in each time.

It seemed much faster than normal that they actually arrived home. Yuffie had switched into a more comfortable position by then and was in a light sleep, sprawled across the backseat, which was empty except for Cloud and Squall.

The silence between the two men was almost unbearable for both of them. Finally, Cloud said, "So, how are you planning on spending that money?"

Squall gave what sounded like a small grunt. "We split it, half and half. I don't know what Yuffie will do with hers, and frankly, neither do I."

Cloud seemed to consider this. "So… is… Yuffie staying with you? Permanently?"

He seemed taken aback, his eyes torn from the blurred scenery and focusing on Cloud instead. The day was slowly turning into a dusky night, the sky purplish, casting shadows on Cloud's face and lengthening his features.

"I… don't know. Something happened between me and Yuffie in the hotel room on Christmas. She freaked out, but she wants a relationship. I don't know if moving in, or staying where she is, would be considered taking it slow, but… since we've been like this for awhile…" Squall trailed off.

He looked thoughtful. "Do you love her?"

Squall looked away, and there was a pause for a few seconds. "I've not acted like it, but I've gotten to know Yuffie during this bet… I… do love her."

Cloud looked stunned for a split second, but it flickered too quickly for Squall to catch it. He grinned. "It's about time. I was starting to wonder if you were into dudes."

The deep feely conversation immediately switched to light hearted, and the corners of his lips twitched ever so slightly. "Don't ever let me hear you say that in the light of day, Strife," he said, but there was no force in his voice.

Conversation drifted, and the young woman in the back was laying with her head supported on her hands, her eyes closed, a peaceful, unknowing expression crossed over her face.

* * *

"You sure about this?" he asked, his eyes flickering with covered emotion. 

"Perfectly," she said with a grin, standing on tip-toe and kissing his nose, in which he replied with an eye roll, but they both knew that he loved it. "This will make us like a real couple. Um… yeah."

He brushed the hair out of her eyes, wrapping his arms around her waist and drew her closer to him. The bags that she was holding motionlessly in her arms were squashed against his pelvis, her arms paralyzed against him. He kissed her hard on the lips, pulled away, and grinned. She rolled her eyes, and as before, they both knew that she loved it. It was their secret exchange of affections, though they continued to pretend as though they were annoyed with it.

Kairi beeped the horn, a smile on her face. Sora pressed his face against the glass of the backseat window, smearing drool over the clear glass and making grotesque faces, mashing his face against it, making his nose go off to one side. Yuffie waved her hand at them.

"I'll miss not sleeping with you," she said finally, a blush rising over her cheeks. He started to shrug, caught himself, then stared at her.

"I'll miss your stuffed animals."

"You won't!" she squealed with delight, about to reach into her bags and pull out her favorite for further teasing, but Squall put a hand on her arm. "Don't."

She pouted. "Fine. Have it your way. So, are you coming over to watch movies tomorrow?"

"You bet," he said calmly. She smiled.

"Well, I better get going."

"Yeah…"

"See you tomorrow… babe," she added as an afterthought.

He waved as she skipped towards the car, shoving her bags onto Sora's lap after slipping into the passenger seat and slamming the door behind her before it sped off down the street. Squall turned around and looked back at his brick house, so similar to everyone else's on his street, and stepped inside. It wasn't the house it had been before. It had been nurtured under a different touch.

He walked into his bedroom and sat on the bed, about to grab his laptop, when he felt a lump under the covers. Curious, he stood back up and pulled the covers down, and picked up what had been under his legs.

He held it carefully in his hands. Yuffie's stuffed puppy. _She must have forgotten it_, he thought to himself. He made to throw it on the ground, but instead put it on the pillow. He liked it better that way.

* * *

_Ahh! I know this is a bean. It's way too short. But I wanted it to end here. Hopefully this has tied up any loose ends. If I've forgotten something, please tell me! This is the last chapter of Sparrow. I'm going to be making an epilogue of the future. I hope you like it! Please review!_


	11. Epilogue

The little girl sat in front of the glass case, the background a mirror, reflecting her image back at her. Her eyes were large and curious, one blue, one violet, and her short hair was black as any had ever seen. She edged closer to the cabinet that held pictures, souvenirs, and trinkets, among others, and her eyes widened a bit more as she put a finger against the glass and stared at a picture of her mother and her father and other people, looking happy and younger than they were now.

Her mother was standing next to her father and making bunny ears above his head, a lopsided grin on her face, her hair, black as the little girl's, falling into her eyes. The little girl smiled in recognition and let her eyes shift to her disgruntled father, whose hair was, oddly, longer than her mother's. She wrinkled her nose. She had never seen him with hair so long; it was shorter now, and dark brown, and silky smooth. She loved playing with his hair.

There was a blonde man standing next to a green eyed woman. They were both smiling serenely, and seemed to be the only calm ones in the picture. There were two boys, both on the ground, slapping each other and surrounded by motion blur, their faces hardly recognizable. There was another girl, with pretty red hair, a look of surprise on her face, and her arms thrown out before her. She looked like she was about to trip over the two boys.

The little girl stood up, squinting her eyes to see more pictures. There was one with both her parents. Her mother was dressed in a long white gown, her body to the side and a long train flowing down the steps, but her face was turned to the camera. Her hair was swept up and looked like she had snapped glittery diamonds around her hair, along with a long veil. Her father stood next to her, looking much more recognizable. His hair was shorter here. He was staring at her mother with a tender look, dressed in a dark suit that contrasted greatly with the white of the dress.

Another picture showed her mother with a round belly, sitting on her father's lap, and dressed in a yellow sun dress. She was smiling and had a hand on his cheek, leaning back against his shoulder, while his hands rested on her stomach. Yet another picture with a set of old people, her grandparents, and her parents. Only this time there were two other recognizable people in the photo: a laughing girl with tufts of black hair and bicolor eyes, clapping her hands in her mother's arms, and a little boy with the same hair and eyes in her father's arms.

The little girl knew who the little boy was, but no one talked about him.

"I was looking all over for you, silly!" said an all too familiar voice. The little girl looked up and stood excitedly.

"Mommy, is that you and Daddy? Is it?" she asked.

The woman grinned, brushing away the hair that had fallen into her eyes. She was wearing shorts and an oversized sweater, a warm look in her eyes. "Yep, that's us. Isn't Daddy something else?"

The little girl grinned in response, not really knowing what "something else" he was, but understanding her mother was complimenting him.

"And that's my brother isn't it?"

The smile on her mother's face seemed to freeze on her face. She bent over and picked her up, groaning a bit. "Yes... He died a week after he was born. He was your twin brother. Ah… you're starting to get too old to carry! Already three years old." She seemed eager to change the subject, covered pain flitting across her eyes.

She shook her head. "You're silly, Mommy."

"Okay, okay. It's time for your nap. Otherwise you'll get to be a worse crab than Daddy." She carried the little girl across the living room, headed towards the blue and pink room where the little girl's bed was, covered with three stuffed animals (one for each birthday).

"If I promise to fall asleep quick, will you tell me a story?" she asked hopefully. "Please?"

Her mother faked a sigh. "O_kay, _if I have to."

She set the little girl onto the bed, who promptly lay down. "Tell me about you and Daddy."

"Well… we met at work. We didn't like each other very much."

Her eyes filled with tears, her bottom lip trembling. "Y-You didn't?"

Her mother brushed the little girl's silky hair away from her forehead and kissed it. "Don't worry, the story gets better. Our friends bet us six hundred dollars we couldn't live like a married couple for a set amount of time. Well, we did pretty well at it, actually. I convinced Daddy one day to take a break and go on a ski trip. All our friends went.

"It was on Christmas day that we realized we both truly had feelings for each other. We were both secretly attracted to each other from day one but never had a way to show it.

"After that we took it slow. I moved out and back in with my girl friends. We spent a lot of time together, the two of us. Until one day, Daddy asked me to marry him… for real."

The little girl gasped and clapped.

"Our parents were thrilled. They met Daddy before and approved. I had never met his parents. They died a long time ago. Anyway, we got married, and one year after, we had you and your brother. We were in love and we loved you both to pieces. But your brother and you were so little when you were born… we didn't think you would make it. Your brother didn't pull through, but you did. And that's why you're our little angel."

The pain was clearly evident on her mother's face, so that even the three year old could recognize it, but there was somber happiness there as well. The little girl smiled a bit.

"I don't like that story," she said. Her mother laughed and pulled the covers up above her daughter and tucked her in.

"You better learn to like it, because without it, you wouldn't be here," she said. "I'll have Daddy come in later to give you a kiss."

She started to leave, then stopped and turned around. "How would you like another little brother or sister…?"

But she was already sleeping.

With a sigh, she walked out of the room and stopped outside the door, closing it gently and leaning against the wall, letting out her breath. Three years… but it still felt like yesterday. She was only grateful that she still had one.

"Yuffie?" a voice called from the kitchen, and the sound of jingling keys.

Yuffie composed her face and walked into the kitchen, smiling, and threw her arms around Squall's neck, breathing in the scent of his leather jacket and aftershave. He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up a bit, then let her go. She kissed his lips and pulled back.

"Home so soon?" she questioned. He nodded, shrugging his coat off.

"Cid let me off early. So… how's the little one?" Then a sly look crossed his face. "And our other little one?" He lifted up Yuffie's large sweater and felt her slightly bulging belly.

"Wonderful," she answered honestly, leaning against him, closing her eyes. She felt them swelling with tears. She furiously bit the inside of her cheeks to stop herself, but he had already noticed.

"What's wrong?" he asked concernedly, grabbing hold of her shoulders and holding her out to look at her. Her head dropped to one side.

"I don't know… pregnancy hormones, probably…"

"I don't believe that."

"It's…"

"Her brother?" he questioned, careful not to use his name.

She nodded and sniffed. He didn't know what to say. What could he say? He had loved his son, more than he ever imagined he could love anyone, but when he died, he hadn't grieved at all like Yuffie had. He had had to take care of their daughter while she mourned. She was barely able to take care of herself, even. It had been a hard time for all of them.

Yuffie wiped her eyes. "I'll be all right. It's just, she was looking at the pictures with him in it and… what could I say?"

He sighed and leaned against the counter, shaking his head. "We'll take her to his grave when she's a little older."

"No, she needs to understand now," Yuffie replied, grabbing a rag and absently wiping the counter, which was already clean.

He opened his mouth to protest, but closed it. He was in no place to argue. "Is she already asleep?"

"I think so. She might be. I told her you'd go in and kiss her, though, so you might as well wake her."

He walked out of the kitchen and down the hall towards her bedroom, opening it and sitting on the edge of her bed, watching her sleep. She was so much like Yuffie, it was scary… and she was still only three. Her mouth was small and slightly heart-shaped, her face angelic, and her eyelashes long and dark. She would be something else with the guys when she was older. He smiled and kissed her forehead where Yuffie had kissed her only awhile before he had.

Her eyes stirred, but she didn't open her eyes. He stood up and left the room, glanced in the kitchen, and noticed Yuffie wasn't there. He walked across the hall towards their bedroom, where Yuffie was laying on the bed, her eyes closed.

He sat on the bed next to her carefully, not wanting to wake her. She didn't sleep as much as she should, especially now with her pregnancy. He leaned over her, and wasn't stunned to see the resemblance between his daughter and his wife quite accurate. While she had a lot of Squall's features, his straight nose, hair texture, and skin tone, she still looked like a clone of Yuffie.

He smiled and kissed her, only on the lips rather than the forehead. She, too, stirred, then drifted back to sleep. He left the room to ready dinner. His two angels.

* * *

Not much of an epilogue, but it will do. I honestly didn't even realize the direction it was taking it until it was... there. Oh well. I'll write up credits and shout outs a little later. But I really hoped you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it (at least when I still had inspiration). 


	12. Credits and Thank You's

I have to thank a lot of people for making the story what it was. I'd especially like to thank **Annjirika** for her encouragement and… writer-ness.

Most Reviews: **Annjirika (10)**

Second Most Reviews: **MisunderstO-od-child (7), Rayzor (7), Sugacoated-Cherries (7), Deplora (7, Starling 94 (7)**

Least Reviews: **Yuleen75 (1), vampiegurl (1), Diamond Lucy (1), carbuncle021 (1), sara (1), Yuffie (1), carbuncle (1), rogue solus (1), Black Mistress (1), TwinklerCherry (1), yous truly (1), Angeli Amori (1), Muffy (1), ****SakuraSagara (1), Fluffy Madness (1), Alassea2 (1), peachgirl1608 (1), DeaSantos (1), Taryn (1), Siren Kioko Yoshimi (1), Siren Yoshimi (1), dadsnavygirl831 (1), Chris (1), Yumi Saruwatari (1), ghettotaku (1), keygirl11 (1), deity of death1 (1), Noriko (1), DarkFenris (1), plumbob (1), Snowri (1), ****Anubis the gaurd of the dead**** (1), fates master (1), ria-baalinda (1)**

I have a list of all of my wonderful reviewers, 73 in all. (I think some people who didn't sign in may have spelled their names wrong, so I just typed it as I saw it). (This does not include the epilogue OR the credits). However, I didn't count one because all they could do was tell me how I mixed up preposition/proposition, and not very politely either. So 72.

MisunderstO-od-child **(7) – You are so great! I can't thank you enough for all of your reviews. Seriously. **

Lain of the Weird **(3) – You ARE weird. In a good way. I just like, "OMGWTFBBQ!" It is… the best. Ever.**

Rayzor **(7) – Ahh! Yay! Another person who I can't thank enough. I'm so happy you were one of my reviewers… one that reviewed almost every chapter especially!**

stroke-of-death **(3) Woot, very dark name. It's pretty cool. **

NeonRaine **(2) – I love your name. Hehe. Thanks for the reviews girlie!**

KairiLuv **(2) Gracias, senorita! **

Yuleen75 **(1) Thanks for the comments!**

vampiegurl **(1) Ahh, you reviewed! I'm happy!**

Aoi-butterfly **(6) – Blue butterfly… aww… that brings such a pretty picture to my head. Thank you for your reviews!**

Annjirika **(10) – Girl, you are an awesome, psycho demented reverse reverse psychology drama queen! You are a great writer and friend. Oh, I also would advise therapy for your Riku obsession.**

Starling94 **(7) – I always love to read your reviews! They're so fun. Thank you so much for reviewing for me. I really appreciate them all, for every story that you've reviewed.**

Neko-Yuff16 **(4) Danke! **

DiamondLucy **(1) Yayy!**

Maggie **(2) You reviewed twice! I like the number two. **

luvbobbyo01 **(2) – Hey hey! Thanks so much!**

kerricarri **(4) kerricarri reviewed! Thanks so much! You are so great.**

carbuncle021 **(1) – Hiya! I like the 021 at the end of your name. I don't know why. I just do. Thanks for the review!**

sara **(1) – Thanks for reviewing chick! **

Kerith Verlaque Easdon **(4) – Your name sounds very noble. Like a royal person. I am making a lot of comments about people's name lately.**

greyspark **(2) Heeey! You reviewed! I'm glad! **

sexynun **(2) – HAHA. Sexy nun! That's hilarious. **

QwickSilver **(4) – Dude. You rule. Seriously. **

p. nogard **(3) – Stuffy. Stuff. Your reviews are full of fluff!**

Sukkiri Mizu **(6) – Aw! Thanks for so many reviews! You are truly wonderful. **

Yuffie **(1) I like your name! Duh! Hehe.**

MariQ **(3) You reviewed! Joy! I'm not being sarcastic either. So nyeh. **

Riles **(2) – Ooo, you reviewed, thank you!**

carbuncle **(1) I have a feeling you're the same as carbuncle021, but if not… yay!**

Sugacoated-Cherries **(7) – I love your name! Did I ever tell you that? Thanks sooo much for reviewing for me. I enjoyed reading them a lot.**

rogue solus **(1) I wonder what your name means. Uh… I have no clue. Anyways, thanks for the review! **

Demented Kitteh **(1) Haha, I love saying your name. Kitteh. Kitteh. And "kittehs" really ARE demented. **

Black Mistress **(1) Hiya! How're you?**

Orange Tabby **(2) – Yay for your reviews! **

Deplora **(7) – Queen Lily of the Kingdom! Hail! Thank you so much for honoring me with your reviews. You are so awesome. **

Haiz14 **(2) Yay, yay! Two yays for two reviews! Wee!**

Akiko Dove **(3) – Why are there such pretty names here!**

TwinklerCherry **(1) – Yay!**

yous truly **(1) Wink! **

Sqully **(6) – Thanks for reviewing! How do you pronounce your name by the way? Sqooly? Sque-ly? Sqwely? Haha. I'm guessing the second? But I don't know. **

Angeli Amori **(1) – One of the only guys on SquffieLove. Oh the horror.**

Muffy **(1) Just like from Arthur! **

SakuraSagara **(1) Thanks for reviewing, doll!**

Fluffy Madness **(1) – I love fluff. And Fluffy Madness! Thanks for the review!**

Alassea2 **(1) Thanks for the review! Wee!**

peachgirl1608 **(1) Woooooo, you reviewed!**

DeaSantos **(1) Yay, you reviewed, too!**

Taryn **(1) Thanks for the review!**

Siren Kioko Yoshimi **(1) Hey, thanks so much for the review!**

Your Inner Eyeball **(2) – Your name is intriguing. You rock.**

Glorfindel Silverleaf **(3) Whoa, elf sounding name. Thanks so much for reviewing, elfie! **

Siren Yoshimi **(1) Hey hey! I think you might also be Siren Kioko Yoshimi…er… but if not thanks!**

pingpong268 **(2) – Yay for Pingy! Where have you been lately?**

Ezri-Candy **(3) – You are awesome. I haven't talked to you in ages. **

The Contessa **(2) – Thanks soo much for your reviews! **

dadsnavygirl831 **(1) – Your dad is in the navy? Sweet! Patriotism! Er… that is, if you live in America… o.O**

XxMidnightSunxX **(2) Whoa! Talk about jumbo shrimp! You know, those one things that I think starts with an 'O?' I think I just lost you… but Midnight Sun is way way one of those!**

Chris **(1) – Hiya! Thanks for the review.**

Yumi Saruwatari **(1) Saruwatari… Saruwatari… your name rolls of my tongue like French. I was listening to a French song recently, and the English in it was very bad. Not that accent. The words. That chick could SWEAR.**

Rednight-rider **(3) Yay for Rednight, who reviewed three times!**

ghettotaku **(1) – Yayness!**

SetsuntaMew **(2) Woot! You reviewed!**

Lorok **(2) Hey hey hey, look who it is! Thanks for the reviews.**

keygirl11 **(1) Woohoo! You reviewed!**

deity of death1 **(1) Oo, thanks for the review, deity!**

Noriko **(1) Hiya! Whatcha doin' ? **

DarkFenris **(1) – Hey! Thanks so much for reviewing!**

plumbob **(1) – Your name immediately made me think of Spongebob. Is that what it's after?**

Snowri **(1) – Uh-oh… you disappeared!**

Anubis the gaurd of the dead **(1) – I like Anubis! I don't know much about him… but still…**

fates master **(1) I'm a fates master, too. Really. I am. I wish. **

ria-baalinda **(1) – I read a book that really reminded me of your name. It was called Wolf Tower. Did you ever read it? Probably not… it's probably the Japanese version of your name.**

Well, I hope I got everyone. I only meant to comment on those people who reviewed the most or second most, but then I commented on friend's who didn't, and some people were left out, and I felt so BAD, so I ended up commenting for everyone.. .eheheh…

I loved writing this story almost as much as I love you guys. Thank you.


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